Scaling up on raw clay composite construction materials and products
active 1 year, 10 months agoClay/earth is an excellent construction material – it’s hygroscopic, healthy, clean, affordable, local and can even be fully circular. However, most of the earth building techniques currently in use do not provide sufficient insulation. This project idea builds on preliminary research conducted at Aalto University in Finland to develop a variety of clay-based, highly insulating composite materials that can be used either as a filling with another load bearing structure, or even independently. The insulation capacities are created by adding organic fibres or light mineral filling to raw earth and mechanical properties can be induced with natural additives. Raw earth production techniques are simple and low-carbon and offer potential to create a variety of building products. This project prioritises circular flows as its raw material – surplus clay from construction and agricultural or industrial side and waste streams. It looks into varying properties of soils in each participating country as well as maps the availability of circular streams. It takes into consideration the whole value and production chain and seeks to create business opportunities for manufacturers in each country.
