Chinese materials company Yi Design has developed a porous brick made from recycled ceramic waste that could be used to prevent flooding in urban areas. The permeable brick is made from 90 per cent recycled ceramic waste sourced from industrial porcelain manufacturers in the city of Jingdezhen. According to Cheng, co-founder of the company, “This brick can harvest rainwater, redirecting it from the sewage system to the water table by permeating through the ground”.
According to YiDesign, China produces approximately 18 million tonnes of ceramic waste each year, the majority of which is dumped or buried illegally. Therefire, the company collected waste from selected local producers, before grinding and binding it together using a specially developed non-organic chemical binder.
The Permeable YiBrick uses up to 97 per cent recycled waste in its production, making the product both highly porous and robust. As a result, the building blocks can be used as a more absorbent alternative to conventional cement bricks in various architectural contexts. The resulting material is used to create a series of durable products such as bricks and glazed tiles in the company’s own factory in Jingdezhen, which was set up in 2021.
