Barbara Oelbrandt, doctoral research

// The standard building concept of the last 50 years in Flanders, namely the cavity wall, is no longer the most logical answer to the evolution when thermal and ecological performance requirements become very high. The increasing thickness of insulation results in a tendency of using lighter façade materials: slates, sheet material, façade plaster systems, etcetera. The façade wall is no longer a ‘wall’ that is self-supporting, but a kind of wallpaper. Belgium is a densely built-up region, where brick is iconic. Brick producers are trying to follow this tendency by making bricks thinner and hanging or gluing them. This is an understandable but illogical evolution contrary to the basic properties of brick. There is resistance from designers with a high priority for honest and sustainable material applications to use brick as a fragile dress with a limited lifespan. 

The aim of the research is to explore, evaluate and draw alternative building concepts combining a wooden inner structure and biobased insulation with loadbearing facing bricks. The lifespan of brick is maximized in this combination. Archival work will explore the evolution of building with brick. The application of internal insulation is challenging by means of building physics and will be evaluated. Based on literature, life cycle assessment tools and circularity indicators will be summarized and results deducted. These insights will be presented in drawings and offer knowledge to support the decision-making process in designing alternative building concepts.

Supervisor: Karen Allacker, Assessors : Gustaaf Roels, Ann Heylighen
research groups LAP (A&D) and AE (Design and Engineering of Construction and Architecture)
°2021, ongoing