Gaza Rebuilds Using Lego-Like Bricks Made From Rubble
▼ Summary
– Suleiman Abu Hassanin runs a project in Gaza that recycles rubble into interlocking bricks, as building materials are unavailable due to the Israeli blockade and war damage.
– Gaza contains over 60 million tons of rubble, with hundreds of thousands of displaced people living in tents and no clear reconstruction prospects.
– The Green Rock project creates Lego-like bricks by crushing rubble, mixing it with local soil and alternative binders, and compressing it without cement.
– The interlocking bricks were developed as a necessity due to the scarcity of conventional materials like cement, using locally available replacements instead.
– Engineer Wajdi Jouda helped define the brick’s size and structure to meet engineering standards and connected the team with outside technical expertise.
Inside a modest workshop in Gaza, one that was itself repaired after being struck by Israeli airstrikes, Suleiman Abu Hassanin works among mounds of shattered concrete, searching for a way to reshape them. His voice on the phone carries a deep fatigue, reflecting the enormity of his mission: rebuilding in a territory where construction supplies have all but vanished.
Gaza’s struggle with building materials predates the current conflict. For years, the Israeli blockade has restricted the flow of cement, steel, and other essentials, stalling reconstruction. However, after nearly two years of intensified bombardment, the sheer volume of destruction has overwhelmed the already strained system.
The United Nations estimates that Gaza now holds over 60 million tons of rubble. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of displaced residents remain in tents, exposed to extreme heat and winter cold, with no clear path to rebuilding. In this environment, rubble is no longer just waste. It has become one of the few available construction resources.
One local initiative tackling this crisis is Green Rock, a project led by Abu Hassanin that transforms the remains of demolished buildings into Lego-like interlocking bricks. Similar systems have been used in post-conflict zones like Sudan and Iraq, as well as parts of Europe. But in Gaza, the project is not an architectural experiment. It is a direct response to the near-total absence of conventional building materials.
Abu Hassanin explains that the idea came from desperation, not innovation. “We were facing a simple equation: destruction without solutions,” he says. “So we tried to turn it into a resource.”
The process involves crushing and sorting the rubble, then mixing it with local soil and alternative binding agents developed inside Gaza. The mixture is compressed into blocks using a hand-built machine. These interlocking bricks can be assembled without traditional mortar, significantly reducing the need for cement, which remains critically scarce.
Under normal circumstances, this type of brick would require 7 to 12 percent cement. But because access is so restricted, the team developed a version using locally sourced replacement materials. Engineer Wajdi Jouda helped define the brick’s dimensions and structural integrity to meet engineering standards, and connected the team with technical expertise from outside Gaza.
(Source: Wired)
