Since Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2023, millions of people have been displaced from their homes. With buildings destroyed, and an estimated 3.6 million people still internally displaced from their permanent residences, keeping them safe and housed is a major challenge.
Australia-based nonprofit Mobile Crisis Construction (MCC) has stepped in to help rebuild.
MCC sets up mobile block factories in disaster and war zones which help accelerate building and help people return to safety — and normalcy.
In these factories, a mill crushes up rubble, like old walls, glass, and debris, and presses it into recycled, interlocking blocks — reminiscent of a colorful LEGO brick.
In fact, MCC calls them LayGo bricks.
Using a little bit of clay, cement, and water, and waiting a few days to cure, the blocks can then be used to rapidly build shelter and critical infrastructure.
“The concept is to recycle and use what’s there,” Nic Matich, one of MCC’s founders, told Fast Company.
A single machine can make up to 8,000 bricks in a day, producing enough to construct the exterior structure of 10 homes every three days. MCC says the bricks are earthquake-, fire-, and cyclone-resistant, and include slots to help reinforce the structures during construction.
The interlocking shape of the blocks makes them easy to stack together, too.
“Unskilled labor can put these walls together with very limited training,” Matich added.
Matich’s background in crisis response, paired with co-founder Blake Stacey’s engineering savvy, made them a perfect match. And when they realized the war in Ukraine would require creative, long-term support, they knew they had something special on their hands.
“You should do what you can in life,” Stacey said in a video for the organization. “Making bricks and building walls, that’s my thing. If you’re a doctor, you do your thing. But for me, I make bricks, so that’s my thing.”
Each machine costs about $70,000 to $80,000 to build, and the ongoing war garnered the support needed to get their operation up and running.
One of their mobile factories is set up in a shipping container outside of Kyiv, with a small generator running operations — even when the power grid is down in the area.
Through a collaboration with a local nonprofit, the project has helped to rebuild several townhouses. In the summer of 2024, MCC announced a second mobile factory was headed to Ukraine, as well.
“It’s very simple construction, all in a row,” Matich told Fast Company. “It’s sort of a test case. [There’s] no upper limit on how much Ukraine needs.”
MCC hopes their technology proves to be replicable in other areas recovering from disaster.
“The U.N. might send in food, water, and temporary shelters,” Matich said. “And then we could have our machines roll in as a second phase response … to rebuild the area.”
Header images courtesy of Mobile Crisis Construction
