UK construction could be revolutionised by the use of new 'smart bricks' that can recycle wastewater and generate energy from sunlight.
The bricks are being developed by scientists at the University of Western England (UWE) in Bristol, and work by fitting together to create 'bioreactor walls' to generate power.
Rather than being made entirely of clay like traditional bricks, these building blocks will be made from bio-reactors that contain microbial fuel cells and algae. They are designed to adjust to changing conditions around them to modify the air inside buildings.
Project director at UWE Professor Andrew Adamatzky said: “Walls in buildings comprised of smart bricks containing bioreactors will integrate massive-parallel computing processors where millions of living creatures sense the occupants in the building and the internal and external environmental conditions."
He added that this will make each wall like a giant computer.
The bricks have been developed as part of the European ‘Living Architecture’ project led by the University of Newcastle.
