MIT engineers have created 3D-printed glass bricks that could offer a new approach to construction with sustainable and reusable materials. These interlocking bricks, which offer similar strength to concrete, are designed for circular construction, allowing buildings to be disassembled and reassembled at the end of their life cycle.

The team, led by Assistant Professor Kaitlyn Becker and former MIT researcher Michael Stern, developed the glass bricks using a custom 3D printing technology from MIT spinoff Evenline. Made from recycled glass, the bricks are shaped like figure eights and interlock like LEGO pieces, offering flexibility in assembly and disassembly.

In mechanical testing, the glass bricks demonstrated strength comparable to concrete blocks, proving their potential for real-world architectural applications. The team experimented with several manufacturing methods, finding that fully hollow designs offered the best balance of production speed and performance.

“Glass is a highly recyclable material,” Becker explains. “These bricks can be reused multiple times, melted down into new shapes, or reprinted, making them ideal for sustainable, circular construction.”