MaterialDistrict

New wing of museum built from bricks from urban waste

DING, the new wing of Design Museum Ghent in Belgium, will be built from an innovative circular brick, which is made for 63% of recycled urban waste from the city of Ghent. Instead of fired, the bricks will be dried.

The design team consists of Carmody Groarke, TRANS architectuur/stedenbouw and RE-ST. The façade design matches the light colouring if the existing buildings in Ghent. Therefore, the bricks are light coloured and made with white mortar. Added to the mortar is 63% urban waste from the city, like ground up concrete and white glass. The materials are bound with lime.

Rather than being fired, the bricks are pressed and not fired. This saves a lot of CO2 emissions. Over a lifespan of sixty years, the Gent Waste Bricks, as they are called, emit two thirds less CO2 than traditional bricks (0,17 kg CO₂ per brick). In total, 100.000 bricks will be produced.

Photos: Design Museum Ghent / Cinzia Romanin & Thomas Noceto (via Circubuild)

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