Old bricks, new tricks

At a recent demo in Toronto, the future of construction looked a lot like the past — just cleaner, faster, and smarter. Hosted by Green Salvaged Materials (GSM) in partnership with Arcana Materials Co., the spotlight was on Brick Recyc, a game-changing machine that gives old bricks new life.

Traditionally, reclaiming bricks meant hammers, chisels, dust, and a 30–35% breakage rate. But Brick Recyc changes the game, cleaning 3–8 bricks per minute on-site with minimal waste and up to 97% reuse. That’s a win for restoration projects where historical accuracy matters — and for the planet, where reducing embodied carbon is critical.

And older bricks are worth saving. Handmade, breathable, and often impossible to replicate, they bring character and sustainability to every build. Whether it’s Detroit’s 117-year-old Cadillac Factory or a tight laneway project in downtown Montreal, Brick Recyc is proving its worth across North America and Europe.

But brick reuse isn’t just about better tech—it’s about better systems. That’s where GSM comes in. Their work helps embed reuse into demolition and construction planning, while Arcana supplies and processes reclaimed materials. Together, they’re building a model where tools like Brick Recyc feed into GSM’s upcoming Marketplace—a digital hub connecting reclaimed materials with the people who want them.

Circularity requires collaboration. From heritage schools to green-certified skyscrapers, the reuse revolution is gaining ground, brick by brick. You can learn more and book a demo at fraco.com.

Expressive, surprising, lively — and sustainable

We love Common Object, a unique design firm rethinking supply chains and sustainable materials. Fresh off being selected for the Azure 2025 Emerging Industrial Design Studio, we asked co-founder Fernando Ramirez to step into our Circular Spotlight.

How does your company support a circular workplace?

We are an industrial design firm first, but often find ourselves pushing beyond that and tackling the systems around an object. We start by asking, how can we design for the most impact? This often means understanding where the materials come from, how it’s made, who’s involved, and where it might go next.

We believe experimentation informs application. This process helps us understand how to scale these materials and circular economies, like the OkaTerra bio-based infill grown on regenerative farms, or the selvage denim used to replace foam in our BuzziSpace products.

Our goal is to design objects and materials that not only support circularity but invite people in. Products that work hard, feel good, and push beyond sustainability.

What’s the most encouraging sign for workplace circularity?

Slowly seeing the shift from theory to action. We’re seeing large architecture firms and furniture manufacturers implement real circularity standards, rematerializing waste, remanufacturing furniture, and celebrating bio-based materials.

What’s the biggest challenge that you see?

Open and honest transparency. While “end of life” is being talked about more, we need to be transparent about every part that goes into creating a product. Designing for disassembly, reuse, or return to the earth is a good starting point, but we also have to be honest about the lack of infrastructure to support a product’s end of life. We need to come together and have the hard conversation about who is responsible for that final stage and how it actually happens.

What’s the best way to win support for workplace circularity?

Tell authentic, human stories. Sustainability metrics are important, but people fall in love with stories, objects, and spaces that move them. Our job as designers is to make circularity feel human, joyful, and desirable. That might mean showing the beauty in a material’s natural variation, celebrating its origin, or tracing its journey back to the land.

Sustainability doesn’t have to be sterile. It can be expressive, surprising, even playful. That’s how we build deeper connections.

What can the readers of this newsletter do to help your company?

If your company is working to tell authentic sustainability stories, we’d love to connect. We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. Sustainability should reflect your values, your materials, and the realities of your operations. Our role is to help uncover your unique path forward, grounded in what you already do best.

Beyond that, support the ecosystem. Circularity is only possible when we work together — when we connect material innovators, designers, manufacturers, end users, and other co-creators to support one another. Together, we can make a real impact and have some fun along the way.

Our latest report in Work Design Magazine

The question we asked at our Circularity workshop in May — How do you sell circularity to skeptical stakeholders? — finally has an answer! Well, three answers: Engagement, Value and Resilience. Heidi Frasure of Green Standards unpacks what that means in a feature interview with Cynthia Milota of Work Design Magazine.