As a transdisciplinary practice blending architecture, landscape, and urban design, SEW believes that sustainable design enriches the storytelling of our cities. In pursuit of construction methods that reduce our impact on nature, we began this project with a single question: could a waste product from our everyday routines be transformed into a functional building material?
The journey of the Brew Brick is a testament to collective effort and innovation, starting with a seed of an idea from SEW Architect, Harry Henderson. Over several months, team members collected approximately 300kg of waste coffee grounds from London coffee shops, prioritising businesses that actively separate their waste. These grounds were delivered to the expert brick makers at York Handmade Brick Co Ltd, who successfully integrated the organic waste into their clay-firing process. The result is an aerated brick that reduces finite clay consumption by 10% and creates a unit 5% lighter than a standard brick, improving transport efficiency and offering the potential to reduce structural loads in façade applications.
