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WHAT IS IT?
Waste clay (the layer on top of brick-making clay) is extracted from clay banks, and transported to a processing plant to be mixed with waste straw (from farms). Recycled rainwater is used to mix the clay and straw, put into block moulds, and are then put into wood-chip-fueled driers to be dried.¹
The result is unfired clay-and-straw blocks, or "Strocks", which are a load-bearing, primary-structure material, laid with thin layers of clay mortar. It is to be used in internal conditions, such as solid party walls or the inner leaf of a cavity wall.
MATERIAL LIFE CYCLE
KEY INFORMATION:
This material is manufactured and available in the UK.
Unfired bricks have 14% of the embodied energy of fired bricks and 25% of the embodied energy of concrete blocks.*
Strocks can be used as the inner skin of an external wall and for internal load bearing walls typically up to 3 storeys.³
Typical solid strock wall is 160mm (small) or 210mm (large) in width.³
Has a compressive strength of 2.6N/mm².
Non-flammable, in high temperatures (+1000℃) it will turn into a fired-brick.¹
Regulates internal humidity (breathable)
Post-construction alterations friendly - material cuts and drills like timber.
Fully reusable / recyclable at end of life
100% non toxic, improves indoor air quality and sequesters VOC's (harmful indoor pollutants).⁴
Can be made from waste clay on site, which can be preferable in reducing landfill tax.⁴
Shapes of the blocks can be redesigned for specific use.
*Figures might be slightly different for Strocks as there has not been any information on its embodied carbon published online.
Challenges with building with Strocks
Built Examples using Strocks
Sample provided by H.G. Matthews
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