Toop Architectuur replaced an outbuilding on a permaculture farm near Ypres with a two-story house made largely from unfired bricks pressed from on-site loam, wrapped by cast-concrete panels and capped with a planted timber roof.
Unfired loam bricks met German standards in lab tests and were produced by pressing the excavated clay-rich soil into molds and drying them in still-warm kilns at a local brickworks.
Exterior protection required a hybrid assembly: cast concrete facade panels (mixed with loam and crushed brick) shield the unfired brick inner leaf, with a vapor membrane and recycled-grass insulation in the cavity.
Site constraints shaped structure and program: the house sits on concrete foundations because of boggy ground, includes an upper concrete slab for thermal mass, and the loam extraction pit was reused as a vegetable cellar.
# Project at a glance
MICO is a new farmhouse by Toop Architectuur on a working farm outside Ypres, Belgium. The client runs a small-scale food-forest and permaculture operation and asked initially for a renovation. Toop recommended replacing a dilapidated outbuilding instead, which allowed better privacy and views while turning the old footprint into productive space.
# What they built and why
# How the materials were made
Unfired bricks erode when exposed to prolonged moisture, so the project uses a protective exterior layer. Concrete facade panels were cast on-site with mixes calibrated by on-site testing: proportions of cement, soil, and crushed brick were refined until satisfactory. The panels were cast in recycled jute coffee sacks, leaving an irregular texture that resembles rough stone.
Between the unfired brick inner leaf and the concrete panels is a cavity containing a vapor-proof membrane and a layer of grass insulation delivered in recycled jute sacks. Inside the house, the loam bricks are mostly visible, or finished with loam-based plaster.
# Structural and environmental details
# Construction challenges and results
# What to watch for next
The project is experimental for Belgium in using unfired bricks at this scale. Its success will be measured over seasons: how well the exterior protection and cavity system manage moisture, how the planted roof performs, and how durable the unfired brick and loam finishes prove under local weather.
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