"Architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together. There it begins."
Mies Van der Rohe
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Raw earth

Raw earth has been used as a building material for several millennia and is deeply associated with the urban development of great civilisations on all continents. It still constitutes more than a third of the buildings used as human living spaces.

Today, we are (re)discovering the built in earth heritage and its virtues; whether it is adobe, raw earth bricks or cob, under its many applications and names, the material “earth” conceals fascinating qualities which make sense in the current development of a more ethical and sustainable construction.

The Geobloc history

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a land of entrepreneurs and innovative builders. The construction sector is extremely dynamic and generates a large number of residues that need to be dealt with. Among these, the excavated soil from our construction sites is little used, even though it represents a noble, inexhaustible material, rich in qualities.

With the strong desire to be part of a circular economy, Geobloc is developing a range of construction materials that exploit the treasures of Luxembourg’s soils and subsoils, which until now have been under-used.

In order to carry out this adventure which began in 2018, Geobloc has enlisted the services and skills of the best companies and experts in the sector, in order to develop products adapted to the requirements of the Luxembourg market.

Circularity and sustainability

Geobloc products are made from recycled natural materials – excavated soil and clay – which are analysed, recovered, sorted, packaged and processed locally. They do not contain any additional substances or additives.

In its processing, Geobloc takes care to use energy in a sensible and reasonable way. Geobloc products do not undergo any baking phase, thus drastically reducing the environmental impact of their manufacture.

According to currently available life cycle analysis calculations, mud brick masonry is 4 times less energy consuming than cellular clay bricks, 6 times less than concrete bricks and up to 10 times less than solid clay bricks.

Partners

Geobloc shares its vision, values and its project with several actors committed to innovation and to the transformation of our society towards greater sustainability and ethics.

Carrières Cloos collects, analyses, packages and processes the necessary raw materials. As the main holder of Geobloc, Carrières Cloos is responsible for the strategic and commercial development of Geobloc products, and also their quality.

From the very beginning, Neobuild has been responsible for part of the development and coordination of the project. As a key innovation body in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Neobuild is participating in the transformation of the construction sector towards greater sustainability.

The Swiss company is at the heart of the technical development of Geobloc products, thanks to their long-standing presence, expertise and experience in raw earth. Terrabloc and Geobloc are continuing this collaboration, in particular by increasing knowledge, continuously improving production methods and promoting raw earth products.

Since the first formulations, the Ponts & Chaussées administration has supported Geobloc in conducting mechanical tests and interpreting them, in order to select and perfect the recipes.

Recyma operates landfills for inert materials in a way that minimises the impact on the natural and human environment. Each landfill is organised in close cooperation with the national and municipal authorities. In this way, Recyma contributes to industrial ecology in the construction sector by recycling materials from this sector and by reducing the excessive consumption of natural space.

Far from the hydraulic lime that gave it its name, Contern SA is recognised as a supplier and manufacturer of high-quality building materials. Contern now enables Geobloc to manufacture its raw clay products using its extensive industrial expertise.