Building insulation element
Translucent Aerogel Glass Bricks
Glass bricks have been long been popular in architecture for enhancing natural light in buildings, but they lack sufficient insulation and load-bearing capabilities. Researchers at Empa have now developed an innovative translucent glass brick infused with silica aerogel, offering excellent insulation and structural properties. This innovation enables the construction of aesthetic, light-permeable walls that minimize the reliance on artificial lighting while improving energy efficiency. Empa is seeking international partners to collaborate on research and development efforts to bring the aerogel glass bricks to the market.
Glazed construction elements are a popular method in architecture for letting light into a building. This allows for better use of environmentally friendly daylight, and less artificial lighting is needed. To maximize this advantage, however, the glass elements should preferably be used to construct entire walls for the building envelope, which requires that the elements have effective thermal insulation and can bear a certain load - a combination that has not been available on the market in this way until now.
Both requirements met: highly insulating and translucent
Silica aerogels are high-performance thermal insulation materials that are becoming increasingly popular in the construction sector. The most common are opaque insulating mats and plasters. Back in 2017, Empa researcher Jannis Wernery and his colleagues from the Building Energy Materials and Components department had the idea of integrating the insulating material directly into a building brick and presented a new type of brick filled with aerogel, the so-called "Aerobrick". Thanks to its excellent thermal insulation, this brick saves heating costs - without the need for an additional insulation layer applied to the masonry.
However, aerogel can also be virtually transparent, which makes for a translucent, insulating building system. To take advantage of this and further improve the insulating performance of the "Aerobrick," Wernery, Michal Ganobjak and Co. developed a novel modular component based on float glass and silica aerogel granules that combines both properties - it is translucent and insulating: the aerogel glass brick.
The glass bricks filled with translucent aerogel granules allow the construction of aesthetically pleasing and even load-bearing façade elements that enable a significant amount of daylight to enter. The Empa researchers achieved this combination of strength, insulation and light transmission by using offset spacers between the glass panes within the glass brick, which ensure static stability with minimal heat transmission.
The glass brick has a measured thermal conductivity of 53 mW/(m∙K) and a compressive strength of nearly 45 MPa. This is the highest insulating performance of any brick found in the technical literature, let alone on the market. Additionally, it comes with the property of light transmission.
Multiple applications in view
The aerogel glass brick is suitable for applications in which there are simultaneous requirements for high daylight penetration, glare protection and privacy protection, such as in offices, libraries and museums. An important aspect is that a building envelope made of such glass bricks couples the inside of the building with the outside in terms of daylight. This can have a positive effect on the circadian rhythm of the building users. Possible applications include
- Rooms that should not have a line of sight to the outside, for example for reasons of privacy, security or to avoid disturbances, but should still allow diffuse daylight into the interior, such as libraries, galleries, museums, foyers, offices, stairwell cores, gymnasiums, multi-purpose halls, residential buildings or art workshops
- Spaces where daylight is necessary for a healthy circadian rhythm, such as dormitories, hospitals and sanatoriums, as well as zoos, stables and animal breeding facilities, and even greenhouses
- Places where maximum daylight is to be brought in and space is to be saved, such as in densely built-up urban quarters with high-rise buildings and many city apartments
- Architectural elements such as Trombe walls in solar architecture, courtyards or atriums that generate heat from infrared radiation from sunlight
An analysis of material costs shows that the insulating glass brick can be quite competitive in such applications. The glass brick thus offers architecture new design possibilities for more daylight in buildings - both for new buildings and renovations. The researchers have now filed a patent application for the aerogel glass brick and are looking for potential industrial partners.
The project is supported by the Velux Stiftung, Project No. 1440 for the development of a highly insulating translucent glass brick for diffusive daylighting. The project idea was developed with support from the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program of the European Union under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, contract number 746992.
Search for R&D partners!
Empa is inviting innovative companies internationally specializing in façade elements, façade systems, and plastic component production to join an exciting research and development initiative. This project offers the opportunity to explore groundbreaking applications for aerogel glass bricks, pushing the boundaries of energy-efficient and translucent building materials. By partnering in this venture, companies can play a pivotal role in shaping the future of sustainable architecture, unlocking new market opportunities, and driving advancements in construction technology.
Selected media coverage
American Ceramic Society - Let there be light
Forbes // ‘Frozen Smoke’ Makes Glass Bricks Strong And Super Insulating "How a material invented in the 1930s might revolutionize the way we construct buildings"
www.architectmagazine.com // This Week in Tech & Culture: Translucent Bricks
gearrice.com // This is the revolutionary brick that wants to reset construction. It is insulating, allows light to pass through and is more resistant
architekturblatt.de // Gebäudedämmung – Lichtes Mauerwerk
World Cretivity Science Academy // Daily Highlights 25 Apr 2023 – Translucent Aerogel Bricks Literally Shine A Light On Future Building Materials
Built off site // Aerogel glass: Translucent modular facade bricks
sonnenseite.com // Glass modules: heat-insulating and translucent
TechXplore.com // Introducing translucent bricks
Media Features
Featured in a segment on German television (WDR Markt) under the topic "Living According to Your Inner Clock," Currently available online at 00:09:14 at ARD television archive inside the topic "Leben nach der Inneren Uhr" EN: 'Living according your inner clock' Also available here: https://youtu.be/nezr_7G1F28
Daylight Academy Annual Conference, Keynote Speech "Let's build translucent walls! on DLA Annual Conference 2021" Presentation on 02.12.2021, ca. 15 min. Happened online due to COVID-19 restrictions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wplo8hsfioQ
Nomination for 5th Swiss Building Award 2023
Recognized in the category of Research, Development, and Startups. Event held at the KKL Luzern Culture and Convention Centre on 10.05.2023. LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ganobjak-michal-08b47930_aerogel-aerogelbrick-aerogelglassbrick-activity-7077273244487016448-C46A?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop, webpage: https://www.building-award.ch/cont/nominationen_2023.html, video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diJrHTTR6r0 , KKL Luzern Culture and Convention Centre
Aerogel Industry-Academia Forum Workshop
Demonstration at Nest, Empa, Dübendorf
On-site installation and demonstration of the Aerogel Glass Brick on 31.05.2023. Presentation stand showcasing the Aerogel Glass Brick, highlighting its innovative features and applications. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ganobjak-michal-08b47930_aerogel-aerogelglassbrick-aerogelbrick-activity-7071781874909470720-E_I7/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop, LinkedIN post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ganobjak-michal-08b47930_aerogel-aerogelglassbrick-aerogelbrick-activity-7071780579217666048-R4dd?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
Swiss Innovation Forum 2023
Presentation stand with mock-ups and samples displayed at the Congress Center Basel on 30.11.2023. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ganobjak-michal-08b47930_sif2023-innovation-buildingtechnology-activity-7136349914246082561-t7zJ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
Dr. Jannis Wernery
Building Energy Materials and Components
Phone +41 58 765 4946
Dr. Markus Kasper
Empa, Knowledge and Technology Transfer
Phone +41 58 765 44 38
M. Ganobjak, W.J. Malfait, J. Just, M. Käppeli, F. Mancebo, S. Brunner, J. Wernery; Get the light & keep the warmth - A highly insulating, translucent aerogel glass brick for building envelopes; Journal of Building Engineering (2023): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2022.105600
C. Bianchi, Structural assessment of translucent insulating glass bricks and brick walls by numerical simulations : Master thesis report. Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Andreas Taras, Institute of Structural Engineering (IBK), Advisor: Vlad Alaxandru Silvestru, Zurich: ETHZ, 2023. 50 p.
V.-A. Silvestru, C. Bianchi, J. Wernery, and M. Ganobjak, “Structural assessment of translucent walls built with a novel type of insulating aerogel-filled glass bricks,” Glas. Struct. Eng., vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 229–250, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40940-024-00265-0
Lina Hassoun. Integrated Assessment of Buildings' Visual and Energy Performance with Innovative Translucent Bricks (same title as the paper later) : Semestral project. Supervisors: Jacopo Vivian, Fazel Khayatian, Empa, Laboratory for Urban Energy Systems. Zurich: ETHZ, 2023.
L. Hassoun, F. Khayatian, M. Ganobjak, J. Wernery, and J. Vivian, “Integrated assessment of buildings visual and thermal performance with translucent bricks,” J. Phys. Conf. Ser., vol. 2600, no. 11, p. 112008, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2600/11/112008
M. Ganobjak et al., “Development and evaluation of highly thermally insulating aerogel glass bricks,” J. Phys. Conf. Ser., vol. 2600, no. 11, p. 112015, Nov. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2600/11/112015 poster: Poster presented at CISBAT 2023, video: Video abstract
The second Aerogel Industry-Academia Forum will be held on 31 May - 2 June 2023 at the Empa-Akademie and NEST buiding in Dübendorf. Strengthen and extend your network in the area of aerogel-related materials, technologies and markets: register now!
Representatives from industry, academia and policy-makers are invited to join.
