Did you know that only around 2% of bricks from demolished buildings are currently reused? At IGCE, we are working to change this by researching methods to separate historic bricks from historic mortar, enabling their direct reuse.

Our mission

  • Reuse over recycle: Keeping high-quality historic bricks in use to significantly reduce CO₂ emissions and energy consumption.
  • Technology-driven solutions: From vibration-based approaches to microwave-assisted separation, we are currently testing six different methods to identify the most effective way to preserve old masonry.

  • Automation for impact: Our goal is to equip the Baubot with these tools, making selective deconstruction automated, scalable, and affordable.

    A big thank you goes to Dennis and Nico, our bachelor’s students, as well as our technician Roman, who carried out the first round of preliminary tests and laid the groundwork for this research.