Demolished houses usually leave behind lots of scrap materials that, with a little bit of clever thinking, can be turned into fantastic new building supplies. Inspired by Italian-style terrazzo floors — made from waste produced in the marble mines — Dutch designer Dave Hakkens created a series of recycled composite “Rubble Floor” bricks by crushing and mixing materials from an old building. Old red bricks, roof and toilet tiles, glass, and even nails now have a new life as a colorful floor.
After several experiments using leftover materials and binders, this young designer worked out that he could recycle a vast amount of materials and mix them with 20-30% of new cement, making bricks that could last up to 100 years. But one of the most innovative aspects of this Design Academy of Eindhoven graduate’s project is the way he gives color to the bricks. Hakkens worked out that by crushing into powder and sieving some materials like black roof tiles or red bricks, he could create a pigment to make multicolored bricks with unlimited building possibilities.
+ Dave Hakkens
Photo © Dave Hakkens
