UBB BUILDINGS

 UBB ... Unvitrified Building Blocks

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The Benefits of UBB in Home Building and Improvement

UBBs are an ancient building material and technique – just ask the ancient Egyptians! There is no question such structures are durable.

Buildings made with UBBs like building with other 'earth blocks ect.' have lasted hundreds and even thousands of years. As people are becoming more concerned about the environment and sustainable building materials, UBBs construction is likely enjoying a resurgence.

With modern techniques, UBBs, will no doubt be more durable and effective than ever. Instead of the ancient method of pressing by hand, machines press a mixture of earth, clay, and sometimes sand into sturdy blocks. The blocks are then stacked by hand like bricks, held together with a thin layer of slurry made from the same material as the blocks but thinned down with water.

Environmental Benefits

UBBs will appeal to those with environmental concerns. Here are some of the eco-friendly aspects of this ancient form of construction.

1. Energy Savings
Thermal mass is an important aspect in saving energy. This refers to the heating and cooling of the walls themselves, or "passive" heating and cooling. A building with UBB walls absorbs heat and releases it evenly, adding to the comfort of the inhabitants. Energy savings are significant as a lot less energy is required to heat and cool such buildings.

2. Renewable Materials
Earth is a renewable, abundant resource. Unlike fiber board, plywood, and other modern building materials, its production does not require the use of dangerous chemicals.

3. Natural Materials
With "sick building" syndrome a real concern, natural building materials are being looked at as a viable means of avoiding such sensitivities. UBBs walls will not "out-gas" chemicals like formaldehyde.

4. Inexpensive
In poor communities, UBBs is especially advantageous. The compression machinery can offer faster production and the earth is readily available, and there is no cost to import building materials. Also, UBBs do not require as much energy to produce like fired bricks or concrete.

5. Local
UBBs are made from local earth. This means there are no fossil fuels used to transport building materials from as far away as China.

6. Save a Tree
Perhaps the most obvious but still significant environmental advantage of UBBs construction is that is reduces reliance on forest-based materials. In other words, it does not require the use of wood albeit wood could and would extend the architectual options.

7. Insect Control
Many homeowners have had to call in a pest control specialist at one time or another. Some people have regular applications of pesticide in and around their homes. The environmental issues with pesticide use are numerous. But  UBBs homes offer naturally insect resistance, reducing the need for chemical pesticides.

8. Less Waste
UBBs homes are fire, insect, and water resistant. They last for many years. This means less waste in the long run. Fewer repairs will be needed for the structure, and rebuilding due to fire or water damage is very unlikely to be heard of in UBBs homes.


THE BOWRAL UBBs

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The experimental UBBs produced at the BOWRAL BRICKWORKS circa 1980s were:
  • Extruded using clay from an overburden layer at their pit that when fired produced what was deemed to be an unmarketable brick; and
  • Extruded as a solid blocks without cement as a stabiliser which were dried using waste heat from their kiln; and
  • The advantage here was that drying further compressed the block enhancing their compression strength; and
  • Given the clays properties the blocks stood up the CEBS erosion test and thus would meet NSW building standards of the time.
  • The blocks were in colour, what was deemed to be BORINGgrey but given that they would in most cases be rendered to enhance their erosion resistance properties this was/is of no real importance.

In terms of marketing the UBBs it was envisaged that they had an application as:
  • Load bearing building blocks; and
  • Infill building blocks; and
  • Internal partitian walling; and
  • Flooring blocks albeit that they would require a heavy application of micro-crystalline wax to mitigate against dusting. CLICK HERE
Marketing the UBBs might well be envisaged as them having an application as:
  • Sustainable and more affordable community housing along with and alongside bespoke housing designs; and
  • Built infrastructure that can be designed the mitigate against fire risk in 'bushland' settings; and
  • The provision of affordable building material with inbuilt advantageous thermal properties; and
  • The provision of affordable social housing that can be designed with very low maintenance costs and delivering cost effective comfortable living spaces; and
  • The provision of affordable social housing that is less susceptible to extreme tenant damage; and
  • A building product that is 'owner-builder-friendly'; and
  • A building product, albeit essentially 'ancient', that affords an opportunity to industrially to supply a 'product' that affords a paradigm in housing design and construction.
Disadvantages 
  • UBBs are quite unsuitable for flood prone landscapes where there is the risk of long lasting inundation; and
  • UBBs require building teams and tradespeople to develop new methodologies over and above current standards and practices; and
  • Albeit that UBBs can satisfactorily (easily!) meet current engineering standards for structures up to two stories, UBBs buildings may often be prone to confronting planning approval hurdles.
ENDNOTE: Sadly the UBBs never went into production because the business was sold and the new owners at BOWRAL BRICKWORKS wanted to focus on paving blocks. So, the market was never tested and the proposed house to built using them didn't get built.

A Tasmanian UBB might well, given current circumstance, might usefully include cellulose – wood dust & shavings, wood chips, hemp, recyclable textiles, paper pulp, willow chips. possibly plastic pellets .... SEE https://tazmuze7250.blogspot.com/2023/08/hemp-notes.html


OF INTEREST! ... This video demonstrates the utility of earthen flooring and the advantages UBBs might well offer with say WOODcreat 'mortar' saving time  while offering a positive outcome.
Resurfacing and Protecting an EARTHEN FLOOR | Building with Natural Materials



Corporate Body ... Commonwealth Experimental Building Station (CEBS) (1944 - 1988)

From ... 1944 ... North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia To 1988

Alternative Names: National Building Technology Research Centre (NBTRC) (Subsequent name, c. 1985 - 1988)
Summary ... The Commonwealth Experimental Building Station (CEBS) was established in 1944 at North Ryde in Sydney by the Australian Government, to deal with the anticipated post-war housing shortage, the shortage of building materials, and to improve the quality of housing construction.

Its research significantly improved the standards and codes of practice of design and construction of buildings in Australia.

In the mid 1980s it was renamed the National Building Technology Research Centre (NBTRC), and in 1988 it was absorbed by the CSIRO, becoming part of the CSIRO Division of Building, Construction & Engineering, where it played a key role in the development of the Building Code of Australia (BCA), first published in 1988.

Related People
Isaacs, David Victor (1904 - 1991) David Isaacs was the Director of CEBS  from 1944 until 1969.

Published resources Conference Papers
Miller-Yeaman, Renee, 'Producing the House: the Commonwealth Experimental Building Station and Housing Research', in Proceedings of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ) 38. "Ultra: Positions and Polarities Beyond Crisis " edited by Kroll, David; Curry, James; Nolan, Madeline (Adelaide, South Australia: Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand, 2022), pp. 73-81., https://doi.org/10.55939/a3995ptgqb. Details ...Ken McInnes

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