Cool Bricks - To Keep your Buildings Cool

     Cool Bricks are 3D-printed porous ceramic bricks, made from a mixture of clay and organic matter. Cool bricks are created by combining both ancient and modern technology to make it a reliable and green product.

These bricks absorb water through pores, which uses the process of evaporative cooling, i.e., the addition of water vapour into the air, which causes a lowering of the temperature of the air. This process results in cool, moist air while utilising less energy than other cooling methods.

Before the arrival of refrigeration, the evaporative cooling process was used for a millennium. Frescoes from about 2500 BC show slaves fanning jars of water to cool rooms to increase the evaporative cooling effect.

Evaporative Cooling Process

The concept is inspired by the Muscatese Evaporative cooling window, which combines a wood screen and a ceramic vessel filled with water to keep the insides cool in the desert environments.

The cool brick masonry system is used to build passively cool buildings in hot climates. Installing these bricks into the walls would create the same result as using an evaporative cooling device but on a massive range.

Design of Cool Bricks

     The Cool Bricks are designed by Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello, who works for Emerging Objects, a California-based studio centring on innovation in the 3D printing architecture and building components.

The brick is designed as 3D printed porous and lattice-like, to maximize the cooling performance and when stacked together the bricks interlock to make an effective screen. The porous material of the bricks absorbs water in their micropores with a sponge-like effect and also creates a strong bond when setting in mortar. The shape of the brick also creates a shaded surface on the wall, helping to keep a large percentage of the wall's surface cool and protected from the sun.

Cooling process inside walls

In desert environments, extreme heat and dry air are not just suffering, but also makes life uncomfortable. The use of cool bricks creates a natural cooling solution for increased safety and comfort in hot climates. Rather than running up a high electricity bill by installing air conditioners, users in hot, dry climates have to use these amazing innovative bricks to bring cool air into the building interiors by supplying some water to them.

     Cool bricks are not quite ready to use in construction yet, Emerging objects are at a prototype stage and will be ready to show off their innovative product in practical soon.

 

Check Out: The Ultimate Guide to Types of Bricks

Technically Reviewed by Rajesh Pagadala, MS, Founder & CEO - BuildersMart. Written by Vani paspula, Content Manager.