The K-briq a circular product

1 Building for tomorrow: Brick by greener brick
2 COP26
3 Circular net-zero
4 Solar
5 Fabric
6 Raw materials
7 Bricks
8 The K-Briq
9 Kenoteq
10 Related articles on Designing Buildings

[edit] Building for tomorrow: Brick by greener brick

The last few years have seen an exponential rise in awareness about over consumption, with a consistent focus on sustainability and the impact our behaviours can have on the health of our planet. With the built environment responsible for approximately 39% of global CO2 emissions (1), the construction industry can play a central role in mitigating the environmental crisis that we face.

To minimise the effects of climate change, our industry, alongside many others, must reassess all elements of its approach – from raw materials and machinery to manufacturing and building practices. Architectural Technology professionals are uniquely placed to lead this conversation as the world strives to meet its ambitious net zero targets.

[edit] COP26

COP26’s theme ‘Cities, Regions and Built Environment’ late last year called for more sustainable technologies to be developed to tackle the ever-growing emissions from construction. The day focused on how the building industry’s impact is wide ranging with little consideration of circular economy approaches. The vast energy consumption used in the creation of building materials, the construction process itself and, once erected, the unsustainable quantities of energy required to run buildings were all highlighted as crucial areas that designers need to consider when developing new innovations and design. COP26 reignited interest and awareness of the challenges faced by the construction sector but we must continue this momentum and start implementing change now if it is to have a beneficial impact.

In 2019, buildings accounted for close to 30% of energy-related CO2 emissions (2) Over the next 10 years, the sector’s energy consumption must reduce five times more quickly to meet net zero goals. This means that the energy consumed in 2030 will need to be 45% less than was consumed in 2020. Sustainability advisor for the RIBA, Jess Hrvinak, has called on designers to take action and reduce the already unsustainable emissions created by the built environment. She has also placed emphasis on designers to explore technologies that can significantly reduce the industry’s carbon footprint.

[edit] Circular net-zero

So, if net-zero-energy buildings are a key step on the path to a greener future, where can designers begin to find more impactful solutions?

Appetite for transformational, circular economy technologies and practices, which can be implemented in the construction sector without damaging timescales and profits, is high. However, the challenges are many and wide ranging. One of the biggest barriers is the lack of space in our cities which is restricting the development of more sustainable urban architecture.

There currently exists a vast number of structures in cities across the globe which have been poorly designed and are leading to huge amounts of unnecessary CO2 being released annually. It is not possible simply to demolish these buildings and start again so designers must consider what technologies are available to improve existing structures and increase their energy efficiency credentials.

[edit] Solar

For many years, solar design was adopted. Designers took steps to minimise the amount of energy that new buildings used and photovoltaic technology was viewed as an essential tool to reduce the built environment’s environmental impact. However, what has become increasingly apparent is that, while creating more energy- efficient buildings, the design features that can decrease energy consumption can simultaneously increase the energy-intensive materials required to build them. Many designers remain concerned that solar panels will never generate enough power to offset the energy that is consumed in their manufacture.

[edit] Fabric

Another approach has seen designers use existing building stock to improve wall insulation as heat loss is one of the main reasons why buildings use so much energy. Some solutions have included adding green walls to existing buildings to help with both pollution and insulation. However, designers should not be limited to merely adding plants and greenery to buildings. Rather, sustainability should be a crucial integration into the entire design process from the outset. Designers should be encouraged to adopt a circular economy approach when considering what sustainable building materials can be used in construction.

[edit] Raw materials

One solution is to reconsider the raw materials that are used in construction from the outset, embedding cleaner, more efficient circular economy processes before the first brick is laid. The humble brick still remains central to construction practices globally and yet the bricks we use have not changed significantly despite the many technological advances experienced across other areas of the built environment.

It requires an incredible amount of energy to produce a single brick. Fossil fuels are burned to ensure kiln temperatures reach more than 1,000°C. This process generates both carbon monoxide and sulphur oxides, and the fine dust generated during production adds a further layer of pollution to our air. Meanwhile, the UK’s construction industry produces over 100 million waste tonnes annually, over a third of the UK’s total, which needs to be repurposed.

[edit] Bricks

Brick houses are widely considered to be more energy efficient than glass homes, which tend to lose heat more quickly and are more susceptible to cracks as a result of extreme weather patterns. Brick buildings retain heat for longer thereby reducing the energy required to keep them warm.

While bricks certainly offer many benefits, we must also ask ourselves where our raw materials for bricks are coming from, and what precious finite resources they are using up during their manufacture.

My team and I have spent more than a decade trying to answer these questions and several others. We have worked with engineers, designers, chemists and geologists to develop an eco-friendly alternative to traditional bricks.

[edit] The K-Briq

Our innovation, the K-Briq, is made from over 90% recycled demolition and construction waste materials and produces a tenth of the CO2 emissions of a traditional fired brick and requires less than a tenth of the energy in its manufacture. While clay bricks take 10-40 hours to produce, K-Briqs take minutes.

Choosing materials that naturally regulate building temperatures to minimise energy requirements is vital. That’s why the K-Briq has been developed with a high thermal mass which retains heat in the winter and keeps buildings cool in the warmer summer months, so heat and air conditioning costs are reduced in the eventual structure.

By streamlining manufacturing processes in this way, the construction industry could produce more materials domestically, reducing its current reliance on imports. However, it is essential that we all work together, supporting manufacturers such as brick makers to find new, more sustainable processes while remaining competitive in the marketplace.

For good intentions and ideas to succeed and lead to meaningful change, they must be underpinned by support and guidance. To allow the construction industry to adopt more innovative, low-carbon alternatives, we need to see action from Government, such as changes in policy coupled with incentives and consultation.

These initiatives, combined with further research and development into new concepts and ideas, will help accelerate their introduction. Architectural Technology professionals can help to lead this charge.

[edit] Kenoteq

At Kenoteq, we are developing a blueprint for how these changes can be achieved with brick manufacturing. Later this year, we will be scaling production from our existing pilot plant to industrial-scale manufacture at a waste handling facility in Scotland. By producing K-Briqs onsite at the point where construction and demolition waste is processed for recycling, we are reducing travel miles and removing additional lorries from the road. We hope that waste handling facilities around the UK will replicate this circular economy approach, eventually removing the need for imported bricks altogether. This presents a unique opportunity for the construction sector to make a significant contribution towards meeting its net zero goals.

We are all up against the clock when it comes to implementing climate change mitigation strategies, so researchers working on new architectural technologies and design should consider the value of basing their innovations on pre-existing materials. Some innovations end up costing our environment more in the long run which is why a circular economy approach is so important and will make a difference now by using existing materials that would otherwise go to waste.

The path to net zero will not be smooth for the construction sector. But, as governments around the world place the circular economy at the heart of their net zero goals, the construction sector has an opportunity to take the lead, to innovate and evolve to meet these challenges. We must make bold choices and work together in partnership to preserve our planet for generations to come.

(1) Report from the World Green Building Council: The building and construction sector can reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

(2) Climate Change Committee Report: Buildings sector – The CCC’s Sixth Carbon Budget Advice, Methodology and Policy reports

This article originally appeared as ‘ Building for tomorrow: Brick by greener brick' in the CIAT AT Journal, issue 142 published in summer 2022. It was written by Gabriela Medero, Professor of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Heriot-Watt University and co-founder of Kenoteq (pictured above).

--CIAT