Machine helps rebuild war-torn areas by turning rubble into bricks

Mobile Crisis Construction makes mobile factories that turn rubble into Lego-like construction blocks.

Apr 10, 2025 - 13:27

Machine helps rebuild war-torn areas by turning rubble into bricks

A Mashable collage a yellow arrows pointing at three of the blocks (foreground). The background image is a drone shot of destroyed buildings in Ukraine.

Founded by engineers from Perth, Australia, Mobile Crisis Construction is a nonprofit creating machines that turn debris – cement, glass, and local raw materials — into interlocking blocks, just like a Lego set. Their design allows even untrained workers to build housing, and do so quickly, which is crucial in areas where shelling has destroyed the homes of entire communities.

The nonprofit began operations in an attempt to help rebuilding efforts in Ukraine after witnessing the destruction imposed by Russia's full-scale invasion.

A long-term goal for Mobile Crisis Construction is to deploy their machines in other war-torn countries too, but the biggest challenge ahead is the cost of producing a single mobile factory, which currently amounts to $120 000 AUD per unit. To continue their work and expand beyond Ukraine, the nonprofit is currently raising donations.