MIT engineers 3D print robust glass blocks for buildings

Robust glass bricks were constructed at MIT using 3D printing. The interlocking bricks, which can be reused several times, can withstand similar loads to their concrete counterparts.

By using 3D printing and recycled glass, the engineers aim to promote a circular construction method in which materials can be reused or reshaped into new forms at the end of a building’s life cycle. In the future, these building blocks could be used for facades or interior walls and offer a sustainable alternative to conventional building materials such as concrete.

The innovative process is based on a 3D printing technology for glass developed by the MIT spin-off Evenline. This enables the production of robust, multi-layered glass bricks that can be fitted together in a similar way to LEGO bricks. A mechanical test of the printed glass bricks showed that they can withstand compressive forces similar to those of concrete blocks. In an initial demonstration project, a wall was built from these interlocking bricks to show the potential for structural use.

“Glass is a highly recyclable material,” says Kaitlyn Becker, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. “We’re taking glass and turning it into masonry that, at the end of a structure’s life, can be disassembled and reassembled into a new structure, or can be stuck back into the printer and turned into a completely different shape. All this builds into our idea of a sustainable, circular building material.”

“Glass as a structural material kind of breaks people’s brains a little bit,” says Michael Stern, a former MIT graduate student and researcher in both MIT’s Media Lab and Lincoln Laboratory, who is also founder and director of Evenline. “We’re showing this is an opportunity to push the limits of what’s been done in architecture.”

Together with Becker and other colleagues at MIT, he is researching how these new glass building blocks can be integrated into larger, self-supporting structures. The researchers aim to establish 3D printing of glass as a viable option for temporary buildings and pavilions that can be easily dismantled and reused for other construction projects.

This research is funded in part by the Bose Research Grant Program and the MIT Research Support Committee.