Amid the destruction of the Lahaina fire, architects in Maui are repurposing surfboard foam waste into fire-resistant building blocks. This initiative stems from a need for sustainable building materials on the island. The blocks, designed by Hawaii Off Grid, offer advantages like greater strength against hurricanes, mold resistance, and enhanced insulation properties. With lumber prices rising and material availability decreasing, these recycled blocks present an eco-friendly and practical solution for the region's housing challenges, particularly in the wake of recent fires that devastated local communities.
In addition to resisting fire, they're also four times as strong as a two-by-four framed wall in a hurricane. They're impervious to mold, mildew, and termites.
We live on an island, with limited space. So how can we use this to make houses?
We also said, we're going to need a lot of building materials, and we're going to need building materials that are fire resistant.
Lumber is at an all-time high again, and the availability of building materials is stretched thin.
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