COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION WITH ECOLOGICAL AND CERAMIC BRICKS

The construction sector is responsible for major environmental impacts, therefore, studies aimed at sustainability seeking new forms of construction with low environmental impact have been gaining space. The ecological brick uses soil in much of its composition and thus emerges as a sustainable alternative and also as a way to make housing more affordable since it is produced through a simplified construction technique, generating lower economic value and speed in the construction process. Within this context, to compare conventional and ecological masonries, an architectural project of a residential building was proposed, in which the costs for its construction were estimated and compared, demonstrating that the use of ecological brick is economically feasible. Tests of compressive strength and absorption were also performed with the ecological bricks, and their results met the normative requirements, being higher than those of conventional bricks. Besides all the benefits for the environment, the prices of soil-cement bricks showed a savings of 31% compared to conventional bricks