Interlocking Earthen Masonry Units for Sustainable Residential Building Construction

In addressing the goal for sustainability in the construction industry, the very materials used for construction and the methods utilized to implement said materials must be analyzed. Specifically, some traditional residential construction materials consist of wood, steel, and concrete. Because these materials vary in their levels of sustainability, there is a need to develop and explore new or other materials that can be used for residential construction. The primary purpose of this paper is to provide a review of interlocking earthen masonry units (IEMU) as an alternative option for residential building construction. This is in an effort to explore the variables impacting their existing and potential applications as sustainable materials and a method for residential building construction. IEMU's are then examined under the triple bottom line (TBL) sustainability framework which includes analyzing the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of IEMU's. The findings of this review may lead to further progression in the development of a framework for evaluating U.S. stakeholder adoption of IEMU's and potential implementation in U.S. residential construction.