[India Gurugram] R+D Studio’s Silica Composite Blocks Are 100% Recyclable; A Step Towards Sustainable Architecture

Editor's Note

This editor’s note highlights the key facts and market implications behind “R+D Studio’s Silica Composite Blocks Are 100% Re”, with emphasis on sourcing, product fit, fabrication, logistics, or buyer impact.

A game-changer in sustainable construction, silica composite blocks are strong, have tensile integrity, and are completely recyclable. Here’s how they are making their way into a variety of projects. Have you ever seen a house being transported from one place to another? Moon Bhandari (38) shared a picture of her farmhouse in Nagpur being shipped from the assembly site to the final location.

Moon and her family had the home built last year. Sharing their insistence during the prefabrication stages that the farmhouse be built sustainably, Moon says, "The material that’s been used is very unique, and it doesn’t harm the environment."

The material that’s been used is very unique, and it doesn’t harm the environment.

She is referring to the silica composite blocks that architect Shridhar Rao (49) of the Gurugram-based ‘R+D Studio’ calls "a game changer in sustainable construction". The blocks are 100 percent recyclable, he says, adding that they are 80 percent foundry dust (burned sand from metal casting) and 20 percent plastic waste.

How ‘waste’ becomes building material

While the farmhouse is one example, a series of 10 toilets in Punjab has also been constructed with them. The first was at the Amritsar international airport; Shridhar says the idea was sparked when a student, Ruhani Verma, noticed the lack of public utilities and started a movement.

"That’s when we got together and proposed the idea of a toilet that would be 100 percent green," Shridhar shares.

As Ruhani had shared at the time, "I stay in a boarding school, and we [students] order a lot of parcels from e-commerce sites. So there’s a lot of plastic waste that is generated right here. I spoke to the bhaiyas (sanitation workers) and found a way to segregate the plastic waste and send it to the R+D Studio team’s work site, where the bricks were being manufactured."

I stay in a boarding school, and we [students] order a lot of parcels from e-commerce sites. So there’s a lot of plastic waste that is generated right here. I spoke to the bhaiyas (sanitation workers) and found a way to segregate the plastic waste and send it to the R+D Studio team’s work site, where the bricks were being manufactured.

Soon, JK Cement commissioned many more of these toilets. With the idea of new locations, there was conversation around a ‘lift and shift’ model, wherein the toilet would be constructed at the factory and then moved. Shridhar gives full credit to the material’s versatility. "Even today, we are still discovering new properties of this material," he says.

A sustainable composite material

How do the silica composite blocks weather different climates? Consider a bunker at 14,000 ft near Jammu and Kashmir’s Razdan Pass, where they brave 25 feet of snowfall and bullet threats. Sharing that the walls are strengthened with compacted earth, Shridhar says this insulates the interiors and makes the structure "impenetrable".

He explains, "The material is the first barrier to extreme weather. There’s a marked difference in the temperature between the outside and the inside space when you walk into an enclosure that’s built with the silica composite blocks — a minimum five-degree difference."

The material is the first barrier to extreme weather. There’s a marked difference in the temperature between the outside and the inside space when you walk into an enclosure that’s built with the silica composite blocks — a minimum five-degree difference.

While it comes with many advantages, Shridhar’s favourite property is that it can be recycled. He recalls that when he set out to develop the material in 2017, he wanted to look beyond ABS plastic.

"Single-layer plastic is the thin transparent plastic bags we get from vegetable vendors, and the multilayered plastic is the food chips and biscuit packets. Since these are both input materials in shredded form, with different properties, we use an alternative recyclable additive to stabilise the mix for better results."

Single-layer plastic is the thin transparent plastic bags we get from vegetable vendors, and the multilayered plastic is the food chips and biscuit packets. Since these are both input materials in shredded form, with different properties, we use an alternative recyclable additive to stabilise the mix for better results.

He adds, "During the testing phase, we noticed that even if we threw the blocks from a height of 100 feet, they did not break." He attributes this strength to the foundry dust, adding, "This means that even the cottages built out of the material will last longer than traditional brick-and-mortar structures."

Built to take impact and stay intact

Pointing out another uniqueness, he says, "While it performs like stone, it isn’t as brittle in nature." The architect urges us to think of the material as resembling rubber in the way it bounces back, even after changes are made.

"You can drill holes into it, and it will still retain its integrity. And this improves the longevity of the material’s external life by leaps and bounds," he says.

You can drill holes into it, and it will still retain its integrity. And this improves the longevity of the material’s external life by leaps and bounds.

Will the silica composite blocks be a game-changer in the way homes of the future are built? Perhaps.

As Moon shares about her farmhouse, "There was no construction dust or pollution since it was pre-fabricated. The house even came with electrical and plumbing."

There was no construction dust or pollution since it was pre-fabricated. The house even came with electrical and plumbing.

Meanwhile, for architect Shridhar, the work now lies in taking this material beyond experiments and into more homes, spaces, and everyday builds.

Source: Read the original article | Published: April 07, 2026