Introducing modular clay hollow

brick (mchb) for walls and other

structures
Utilizing clay and soil stabilization
technologies in the Philippines
The objective of my talk

1. To give you some history of clay blocks from ancient to modern

2. Ancient processes in manufacturing and modern ways of making clay blocks

3. Its application in Philippine setting

4. The benefits of clay blocks

5. What we want to achieve by pursuing this Green technology / industry

Kinds of bricks and uses:

1. Solid clay brick or adobe bricks, adobe is a building material made from earth
and other organic materials. Adobe means mud-brick in Spanish.

2. Either double skinned or multi-skinned brick walls for structure

3. Cladded, veneer or decorative where there was an existing shear wall.

4. hollow brick with mortar holes - cannot accommodate steel bars

(Holes are not big enough)

• Clay blocks - the oldest construction material in the world. It is abundant and
indigenous.

• The use of clay in Egypt with the Pyramids, in Rome with the construction of complex
structures which included arches, domes, vaults and other items. In Byzantium now
Istanbul, clay adobe was for a very long time the basic building material.

2600 years B.C. 312 B.C.

The Great Wall of China 210 B.C used 3,873,000,000 clay bricks.
In Germany, masonry clay brick became the building block of a specific style – Brick Gothic.
This was dominant in the 12th – 16th centuries.

Hanover St. Anne’s Lithuania

 Maria del Fiore in Florence, Italy
Largest brick and mortar dome
in the world . Greatest
architectural / engineering feat
of all time. 14th century

By Filippo Brunelleschi
1436 A.D. 4 million bricks
40k tons, no formworks

The Wall of Moscow, Kremlin has been a brick fortress wonder by neighboring Europe.
16th century
The Industrial Revolution and bricks
Much later in the 18th and 19th centuries the development of transport
networks and vehicles made manufacturing of building materials more
efficient. Before this, bricks, being heavy, it was made on site.

Because of steel, bricks were more standardized. This made construction

quicker and simpler for bricklayers, rather than using stones of various shapes
and sizes, requiring "jigsaw skills". Fast construction was vital during the
industrial revolution, so the use of bricks became increasingly popular.

Trivia - 10 million bricks were used for the Empire State Building. 60,000 tons of
steel, 200,000 cubic feet of Indiana limestone and granite, and 730 tons of
aluminum and stainless steel.
Frank Gilbreth (1868-1924) and his wife Lillian (1878-1972) created an entirely new method of time-and-motion study on how to improve industrial efficiency. Their
groundbreaking studies examined how people, especially factory workers, performed tasks and found ways to eliminate wasted movement and increase efficiency.

The Gilbreths used film to help study and break down work habits. Their camera was an early 35-millimeter model made before 1910. It required hand cranking, and depending
on light conditions and other factors was sometimes cranked slow and sometimes fast. In order to get an accurate timing, they placed a specially calibrated clock, called a micro-
chronometer, in the frame.

Frank discovered his vocation back in 1885, the year he graduated from high school and started training in the world's second oldest profession -- bricklaying. On his second day,
he noticed several different methods. He asked the Master Journeyman training him about it, and was told there were three techniques: one for a regular day, the second to
hurry up to finish a wall, and the third to do just enough to stretch out the job to fill the day.

This got him thinking about the "one best way" to go about it. The traditional method, even after some 6,000 years, involved a lot of waisted motion. The most time-consuming,
back breaking part of the job was stooping 125 time an hour for bricks... and 125 times for mortar.

Gilbreth was able to reduce the number of motions per brick from about 18 to 5. He designed a new, "non-stoop" scaffolding that raised both bricks and mortar to eliminate
wasted motion. Using his method, bricklayers could lay more bricks, standing normally, were able to increase the number of bricks laid per hour from 125 to 350, and still go
home at the end of the day not nearly so tired.
Malaysia
Indonesia

India
An apartment in India
A boutique hotel in Thailand
Educational Institutions

Oxford, England Harvard

Boston University Yale

What about Clay brick Architecture /
Industry in the Philippines…?
We lack the technology, we also have
a “hollow block mentality”…
Clay brick cladded walls at Ateneo Rockwell, Makati
Calaruega, Tagaytay City – brick cladding
Sacred Heart Church, Alabang Hills – brick cladding
Samar house
Arch. Mike Guerrero
Modern technology brick-making could fuse aesthetics and structure, thus,
lower cost and build faster….

How do we fuse structure, aesthetics, design flexibility, the best fire resistance,
acoustic and thermal properties yet construct affordably?
 Steel-friendly, modular clay hollow brick, with
innovative designs modern day chemical, sealers,
stainers
Our MCHB house in Loakan,
Baguio built in 1999

Subjected to “Architectural/
Engineering Trials”
Catalan Brick named after the Catalan
Vaults where clay bricks are constructed
length-wise…

Description:
Trapezoidal in shape for lateral lock, T&G
Use: Brick roofs, domes, arches, bovedas
Specifications: Length 8 inches, Width 1 ½
Inches, Height 3 inches

Could accommodate 8 mm RSB horizontally

65 pieces per sq.m
The dome arch 6 meters by 4 meters
Monolithic clay brick structure
with wooden loft located at the
mountains of New Cabalan, Olongapo City
 The Catalan brick can also be used to build
unique structures e.g., Barcelona, Spain
(no steel)

…or this brick dome garden in

Isfahan, Iran (no steel)
This structure has no steel
Oval brick
8 x 5 x 2 inches, 96 pieces per sq.m.
– Landscaping, decorative walls,
partitions and fence walls.
I-inch diameter center hole for dowels
South Hub, Caltex, South Luzon Expressway
Round Brick –
– For basic posts, bollards, lamp posts
landscape patterns and walkways,
pavers…
Diameter- 8 inches, height 3 inches
center hole for dowels 2 inches
Trapezoidal brick
An innovative design
that provides a lateral lock
for strong exterior walls or partition
walls.
Good sound proofing.
64 pieces per sq.m. Used for
domes and round
Structures. 10 x 5 x 2.5 inches
Clay hollow bricks can accommodate steel and has air vents to thwart sound, heat and humidity
 • Low maintenance brick pods

• Ideal for wooded areas, mountains,

• Beside beaches

• Typhoon, termite, fire, water, rust

• resistant

Area of pod = 12.57 sq.m

Lorenzo brick - 8 x 3 x 3.5 inch, 48 pieces per
sq.m, for wall partitions. Due to its width, excellent space
in addition to strong, energy efficient walls with good
sound proofing.

A 3 inch reduction to a 6 inch partition wall is equal to

0.0761289 square meters per linear meter of walling. 20
linear meters of a 6 inch wall consumes 1.52 square meters
of floor space.
 7 storey Uno Dormitory Building,
J.P. Rizal cor. Pililia St., Makati City.
First to use clay brick for exterior and
partition walls

Owner was pleasantly surprised how much

space was saved using the Lorenzo brick.
He wanted dark red stain on brick which negated
the natural brick look.
Brick dome – arch – located near Kalayaan
Heights, Subic bay Freeport Zone

50 .27 sq.m with loft

Perforated brick
Trapezoidal homogeneous gray and red brick
Malolos, Bulacan
Design options - Brick can be plastered, or skim coated, hollow blocks can’t be “bricked…”
Hollow blocks need to be plastered and painted, high maintenance costs....
Knights of Columbus, Intramuros is repainted every 2 years.

Moisture in walls especially in Baguio and Tagaytay

Benefits of clay brick walls
What we can achieve here;

1. We could be greener in our approach to construction

2. Bring back arches and domes, (Catalan) tile vaults and other
funicular structures that beautify our country.
3. Construct structures that last longer, meaning more sustainable and
has more design flexibility
4. We could now build high walls without fear and without need of
plastering. Build bridges with arch designs
5. We could build fast in forests, jungles or beside the beaches without
fear of the elements like storms or salts, anay, or residue or discharges
from trees
6. Create a whole new industry, establish a brick masonry Institute,
train brick masons
To win in the Wienerberger brick award for the Philippines

Weinerberger is an internationally listed company (Vienna Stock

exchange) which supplies clay building materials and infrastructure
solutions located at the Wienerberg in Vienna, Austria. It is the only
multi-national and world’s largest producer of clay blocks for walls,
but also producer of bricks for facades and clay roofs tiles, of plastic
and ceramic pipe systems as well as concrete and clay pavers with
leading market positions. Founded in 1819, the company is 2
centuries old

Revenues of the company in 2017 was 3.17 billion Euros

Thank you!