Title

Author(s)

Claudia Gowgiel, Pinelopi Filothei Karali

Affiliation

Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia

ReMateria Lab

DOI

https://doi.org/10.65686/AVRW9386

Keywords

Circular Architecture, Material Reuse, Regenerative Design

PP

426-433

How to Cite

Gowgiel, Claudia, Pinelopi Filothei Karali. “Fricks – Upcycled Foamed Bricks Abundance from Waste through Alkali-Activated Material Research.” In Proceedings of the International Conference on Adaptive Reuse. Volume 1, edited by Andrea Crudeli, Francesca Molle, and Emanuele Carrai, 426–433. Firenze: STH Press, 2026.

Abstract

The construction industry operates within a paradox of abundance — producing more than ever while consuming finite resources and generating vast amounts of waste. The brick, one of architecture’s oldest materials, embodies this duality: a symbol of craft and endurance, yet a product of linear, wasteful production. FRICKS — Upcycled Foamed Bricks, developed at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) and exhibited at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, proposes a regenerative alternative: a lightweight, non-toxic material born from demolition waste. By activating crushed brick powder through an alkali-activated (AAM) process combined with a foaming agent, FRICKS reprograms waste into an expansive, low-carbon binder that grows up to three times its initial volume — transforming one cubic metre of rubble into three cubic metres of usable material. The research unfolds across three interrelated dimensions. (1) Contextual and cultural analysis — examining the environmental burden of brick production and its symbolic role in architectural history; (2) Material experimentation — developing and characterizing the FRICKS alkali-activated foamed material through three formulations (fully foamed, layered, and base), each defined by distinct densities and expansion ratios; and (3) Architectural fabrication and application — translating material behavior into scalable, digitally mediated manufacturing protocols and exploring its environmental, social, and aesthetic implications. FRICKS redefines the brick as both matter and philosophy — an approach that builds not from extraction but from transformation. By merging material science, digital fabrication, and circular design, it positions waste as a foundation for architectural abundance and envisions a future where demolition becomes production.

Edited by
Andrea Crudeli
Francesca Molle
Emanuele Carrai

Publisher
STH Press, Firenze

ISBN Paperback – 9791281661141
ISBN Ebook – 9791281661158
DOI – https://doi.org/10.65686/SISY7263

Year
2026

Proceedings of
International Conference on Adaptive Reuse
hosted by The University of Pisa, Italy
15-19 September 2025, at the Gispoteca di Arte Antica dell’Università di Pisa.