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H. Asrah et al.
are used in the construction of wall and partition of the buildings. With the increase in
the urbanization and population growth, the demand on building infrastructures for
both materials has rapidly increased. However, the crucial problems with the industry
are, however, the impact of the materials on the environment. The production of clay
brick may lead to environmental damages due to soil excavation and requires high
construction cost, meanwhile concrete requires cement, which has a high carbon
footprint. As cement is used as a binding element for both concrete and brick in
construction, this has also stimulated the growth of the demand for cement. However,
the cement manufacturing process consumes high energy, which is about 12–15%
of the total energy consumption (Madlool et al. 2011). In addition, the calcination
process releases high amount of carbon dioxide, which triggered climate change
problem. On the other hand, the conventional clay brick, which is produced through
the firing method has also used high energy and released carbon dioxides (Oti and
Kinuthia 2018). As the need for housing increase, our responsibility for the environmental impact should not be left behind. Hence, choosing green building materials
is possibly the best key to reduce the environmental impact due to construction.
Implementation of the green concept in construction through reduction of greenhouse emission, reduction of natural resources consumption and using of waste materials in construction has been done in Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). This is
through the production of interlocking compressed brick (ICB), which meets all
three requirements for the brick to be considered as green construction product. The
interlocking bricks are different from the conventional earth bricks as it requires no
mortar or concrete for the brickwork. This brick is joined with one another by methods of tongue and groove on the top and base of the bricks, which prevent the lateral
movement of the brick (Malavika et al. 2017) (Fig. 1). Unlike conventional clay
brick, this interlocking brick is produced through the compression method, using
the semi-mechanized stationary-type machine. Hence, the production itself does not
lead to the environmental destruction.
Production of the interlocking compressed brick required moderate to low skilled
worker since the ICB manufacture is very simple. It only takes three (3) main stages
Fig. 1 Interlocking
compressed soil brick
H. Asrah et al.
are used in the construction of wall and partition of the buildings. With the increase in
the urbanization and population growth, the demand on building infrastructures for
both materials has rapidly increased. However, the crucial problems with the industry
are, however, the impact of the materials on the environment. The production of clay
brick may lead to environmental damages due to soil excavation and requires high
construction cost, meanwhile concrete requires cement, which has a high carbon
footprint. As cement is used as a binding element for both concrete and brick in
construction, this has also stimulated the growth of the demand for cement. However,
the cement manufacturing process consumes high energy, which is about 12–15%
of the total energy consumption (Madlool et al. 2011). In addition, the calcination
process releases high amount of carbon dioxide, which triggered climate change
problem. On the other hand, the conventional clay brick, which is produced through
the firing method has also used high energy and released carbon dioxides (Oti and
Kinuthia 2018). As the need for housing increase, our responsibility for the environmental impact should not be left behind. Hence, choosing green building materials
is possibly the best key to reduce the environmental impact due to construction.
Implementation of the green concept in construction through reduction of greenhouse emission, reduction of natural resources consumption and using of waste materials in construction has been done in Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). This is
through the production of interlocking compressed brick (ICB), which meets all
three requirements for the brick to be considered as green construction product. The
interlocking bricks are different from the conventional earth bricks as it requires no
mortar or concrete for the brickwork. This brick is joined with one another by methods of tongue and groove on the top and base of the bricks, which prevent the lateral
movement of the brick (Malavika et al. 2017) (Fig. 1). Unlike conventional clay
brick, this interlocking brick is produced through the compression method, using
the semi-mechanized stationary-type machine. Hence, the production itself does not
lead to the environmental destruction.
Production of the interlocking compressed brick required moderate to low skilled
worker since the ICB manufacture is very simple. It only takes three (3) main stages
Fig. 1 Interlocking
compressed soil brick