Environmental friendliness and preservation of historical memory at Promprylad. Renovation
20. June 2022
About 3.5 million tons of construction waste end up in landfills every year. In connection with the war and massive destruction of infrastructure, their volumes will increase significantly, so the Ukrainian authorities are already working on ways to process and reuse construction remains.
We are also implementing the idea of recycling in the process of renovation at Promprylad. This is how we combine two main values: environmental friendliness and preservation of historical memory. Today we will talk about clinker tiles, made from old Austrian bricks, dating from the end of the 19th century. Currently, it decorates the facade of building A on the street. Melnyka
“Our architects faced the task of preserving the authenticity of the building as much as possible. We even wanted to leave the facade as it was. But in this case, the building does not meet the energy efficiency requirements. In order to achieve normal values, we insulate the facade with mineral wool. It is a little more expensive than foam plastic, but it is non-flammable, and, accordingly, it is about greater safety and environmental friendliness. Next comes the issue of decoration. According to the architectural concept, the facade of the building of the first stage is made of clinker tiles. A tile of such quality as it was designed is produced in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and its cost is 29 – 40 euros per square. Together with the general contractor, we came up with a solution that allows us not to import expensive material, but to use local, recycled material. The fact is that according to the technology for the production of clinker tiles, bricks are first made, from which the sides are then cut off with a diamond saw. We decided to purchase clinker bricks from demolished buildings that do not have the status of an architectural monument, and cut tiles from them ourselves. Already now you can see the facade on Melnyka Street, made according to this technology,” says the construction development manager of Promprylad.Renovation.
In Ukraine, construction antiques collector companies work in this niche. They are engaged in the sale of materials originating from the times of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the quality of which is quite suitable for the decoration of modern buildings.
“This Austrian brick is almost 150 years old. And instead of ending up in a landfill, it will become the decoration of one of the buildings of Promprilad for the same number of years. Such innovative solutions allow us to achieve several goals at once: first, we support a local product, this is our brick, and our masters work on its processing. Second, secondary use does not require the additional resources needed to manufacture new bricks. We give a second life to material that has already fulfilled its first purpose. Thirdly, it turned out to be 30% cheaper to reuse old bricks than to buy new ones. We have even heard the opinion that our clinker tiles are very similar to Brooklyn – ceramic tiles from a European manufacturer.
Similar scenarios took place during the post-war reconstruction of Warsaw. Due to the lack of building materials, bricks were reused, construction waste was ground into concrete, and surviving household items were used in reconstructed buildings. As a result, the city that rose from the ruins was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Almost a century later, this practice will become part of the concept of “circular economy”. Promprylad.Renovation already uses this approach, which helps to take the most careful approach to the renovation of historical buildings without causing environmental damage.
