Fortunately, construction with a sustainable perspective is becoming stronger and is developing with modern innovations. Inspired by children’s plastic blocks, a North American company goes out to compete with some innovative ecological bricks as construction material for the houses of the futurewith very good expectations of replacing concrete.
What is the brick of the houses of the future like?
The Lego factory toys have inspired these modern blocks, but with a characteristic that the originals did not have, awareness of ecology. This is how these revolutionary bricks are presented, lighter, more resistant and made with recycled material.
He Renco MCFR (mineral fiber reinforced composite) is the name of this new brick from the firm and is the philosopher’s stone of the houses of the future, which have already begun to rise since the company obtained its official certification in 2019.
The complex structures of this new construction system are the product of technological innovation, robotics and reusable components that make up these stackable bricks for use in buildings and housing complexes of the future.
RENCO co-founder Thomas P. Murphy after being awarded the BLT Built Design Awards in 2023 held in Lucerne, Switzerland demonstrated its pride in a product that has contributed to a simpler and more environmentally friendly construction system.
Technical characteristics of the Lego building brick
Renco’s patented innovation combines in its composition recycled plastic and glass fibers, resin and stone. The perfect combination of these elements gives it a resistance 23 times greater than concrete, with a weight of less than 3.5 kg.
The material obtained from the mixture of recycled ingredients is resistant to water, repellent of mold and the formation of humidity, as well as fire, corrosion and termites. Therefore, it has excellent properties to replace concrete, steel and wood in construction.
The houses of the future will withstand inclement weather with robustness since these bricks have passed the tests of ASTM and TAS standards, which certify their ability to withstand winds of 275 MPH, and up to category 5 hurricanes.
They are ecological both during their manufacturing and at the end of the work, without leaving waste or gas emissions or annoying machinery noises. The bricks that build the houses of the future are interlocked with each other with the use of a special methyl methacrylate adhesive and without mortar.
State-of-the-art technology used for these ecological bricks
After eight years of analysis and efficiency tests, the certified brick uses the techniques of compression molding and pultrusion process to build in a short period of time a structure block by block in walls, beams, floors, etc.
The factory has two lines of blocks, residential and commercial, which differ in their length measurements according to the nature of the building under construction. The houses of the future use simplicity in their designs using color systems for their plans.
This simple way of planning solves the problem of scarce skilled laborallowing people to understand and carry out a constructive undertaking according to their skills and experiences.
Additionally, this characteristic contributes to reducing the financial costs of the work, with fewer workers hired, without machinery or additional construction material. The homes of the future are more affordable and environmentally friendly.
In addition to contributing to a more sustainable world, the houses of the future have achieved certification for use worldwide according to the International Building Code (IBC). The company has already completed building complexes with this construction model in record time and more affordable than traditional construction in Florida and is now awaiting expansion.
