Pirrouet®: carbon-negative facing bricks
They may look like ordinary bricks, but Pirrouet® bricks store more CO₂ during production than they emit. Thanks to an innovative carbonation process, these facing bricks permanently capture CO₂, making them a sustainable building solution. Available in various uniform and nuanced colours.
Why choose Pirrouet®?
- Pirrouet® is an innovative carbon-negative facing brick made from over 80% circular raw materials.
- Do you want to build sustainably with a unique aesthetic? With Pirrouet®, you can achieve your goals in terms of CO₂ reduction and circularity, whilst creating the look you desire.
- This CO₂-negative facing brick offers the same workability and quality as traditional facing bricks and holds the necessary certifications, such as the NL-BSB product certificate.
Pirrouet® sizes and colours
The Pirrouet® starting range includes facing bricks in various uniform and nuanced colours with a specific surface texture and a transparent protective coating.
To make Pirrouet® as sustainable as possible, we only pigment the top layer of minimum 8 millimetres: the stretcher is always coloured. 25% of the bricks have one textured and coloured stretcher and head side, making them suitable for corners.
Sizes (depending on the chosen colour):
- LF50-S: +/- 240 x 72 x 50 mm (most sustainable)
- WF: +/- 210 x 100 x 50 mm
- DF: +/- 215 x 100 x 65 mm
- XXL44-S: +/- 440 x 72 x 44 mm (extra long and slim size)
Pirrouet® Oyster Grey, extra long and slim size XXL44-S
Pirrouet® Gooseberry Green, WF and long size XXL44-S
Pirrouet® Blossom White in long and slim size XXL44-S
Pirrouet® in nuanced beige colours
Pirrouet® Springtime Yellow in WF
Pirrouet® Oyster Grey in WF
Pirrouet® Loungy Red in WF
Pirrouet® Gooseberry Green in WF
Pirrouet® Serious Black in size WF
Pirrouet® in white, grey and black
Pirrouet® in various red colours
Pirrouet® in nuanced colours
Innovative production process of Pirrouet®
To produce Pirrouet®, mineral residues from the steel industry are mixed with sand, water and optional pigments, then pressed into brick moulds. The bricks are then placed in a conditioned room with a high CO₂ concentration, where they are left to harden. During this process, the CO₂ reacts with calcium oxide compounds to form carbonates. This permanent bond creates a hard, limestone-like brick.
What are the advantages of Pirrouet®?
- Carbon-negative product: during the production process, as much as 60 kg of CO₂ is absorbed per ton of Pirrouet® facing bricks; this CO₂ bonds permanently with the calcium-containing materials present during the hardening of the bricks.
- CO₂-neutral production: the production process operates at a very low temperature (< 50°C), which keeps energy consumption low. We source the energy required from waste heat and green electricity generated by our own wind turbine and solar panels.
- Reduced use of primary raw materials: more than 80% of the raw materials we use are sourced from residual flows from the steel industry.
- Less waste: by reusing residual products, we are reducing the amount of waste.
- High dimensional stability: Pirrouet® facing bricks are extremely dimensionally stable.
- Extremely high quality standards: these sustainable facing bricks have been tested to meet the strict European ceramic standards.
- Available in a range of various uniform and nuanced colours with a unique aesthetic appeal.
They’ve already chosen Pirrouet®
Sustainable show home featuring Pirrouet® facing bricks in Rotselaar (BE)
‘You generally only build a house once in your lifetime,’ says Robby Noppe of Dewaele Woningbouw. ‘A house also stands for several generations. Those are reasons enough to prioritise sustainability. What’s more, the Pirrouet® bricks were just as easy to work with as traditional facing bricks.’
Pirrouet® in action: A sustainable icon in Neeroeteren (BE)
The renovation of the Neeroeteren Cultural Centre is a textbook example of how sustainable building materials and collaboration can contribute to a greener future. This project is one of the first in Belgium to use Vandersanden’s innovative Pirrouet® facing bricks.
Groen Nobelhorst: building with Pirrouet® CO2-negative facing bricks
Discover the pioneering Groen Nobelhorst project in Almere, in the Netherlands, where 60 sustainable homes are being built. In these homes, sustainability, responsibility for people and the environment, and innovation come together. As pioneers, they have chosen to be the first in the Netherlands to build with our CO2-negative Pirrouet® facing brick.
Create your own Pirrouet® texture
Want a visual preview of our CO₂-negative bricks in the colour, joint colour, and laying pattern of your choice? Use our texture generator to create your own facade texture.
Frequently asked questions Pirrouet® facing bricks
To fully reflect the sustainable nature of this product, only the top layer is coloured (minimum 8 mm). Our corner bricks — more than 20% of production — have both a pigmented and textured stretcher and header face. These are carefully colour-matched to avoid installation errors on site. If you require fully coloured bricks (for example, for claustra bonds or bonded applications under a masonry console), please contact Vandersanden.
Yes. We apply a water-resistant, scratch-resistant coating to the visible faces of Pirrouet® bricks. This transparent acrylic coating is primarily to protect against weathering, so gypsum efflorescence cannot occur with Pirrouet®. Because the coating is only applied to the exposed surfaces, the amount used is minimal, and so is its environmental impact. The coating does not reduce the durability of Pirrouet® bricks.
Pirrouet® bricks are class IW3, meaning they have the same low water absorption as ceramic handmade bricks. They can therefore be laid using standard mortars and systems (standard joints, thin-bed mortar, glue, lime mortars, etc.).
Pirrouet® bricks have been tested in accordance with the strict European standards for ceramic bricks. We currently have an Environmental Profile (EP) for Pirrouet®, based on estimates and calculations. This will be validated against real-world production data after one full year of manufacture. That verification process is underway, and we expect the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) to be available in spring 2026. Once published, the EPD can be used for official environmental calculations.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Pirrouet® bricks are, on average, around 30% heavier than traditional ceramic bricks. However, the narrowest Pirrouet® size (72 mm) has the same weight per square metre as standard bricks with a 100 mm laying surface. This narrow format is therefore a sustainable option that typically requires no foundation adjustments.
Innovation certificate Pirrouet®
NL-BSB certificates Pirrouet® (zip)
Handling Instructions Pirrouet®
Any questions?
Are you interested in Pirrouet® and still have questions? Then get in touch and our advisor will be happy to help you.