Tulum, Q.R. — After the successful construction of a home made of sargasso bricks, businessman Omar Vázquez Sánchez says a hotel will be built using the same material.
The hotel, which is set to be constructed in Tulum, will also be built using the sargasso bricks. Omar Vázquez Sánchez, owner of the Blue Green nursery in Puerto Morelos, says the implementation of sargasso bricks for the construction of real estate is very acceptable and profitable for the region, adding that it is a good bet to counteract the macroalga along the coast.
Although he did not say where the hotel development will be in Tulum, he did say that building with sargasso bricks is a way to better use the hundreds of thousands of tons of sargasso that arrive along the state’s coast.
Vázquez Sánchez explained that this new alternative of employment and materials is environmentally friendly and will serve the construction of developments, which has been received with positive results by the environmental sectors who agree it is an interesting use for the marine waste.
The resistance of the material has been verified, with the government of Quintana Roo expressing an interest in the project. Likewise, some companies in Puerto Morelos, Tulum and Puerto Aventuras are also asking for the sargasso bricks for future construction projects.
“We can say that it is cheaper because of the type of material used, and this will help to counteract the presence of marine waste on the coast, since as we know, it exceeds several tons and is not a good use for many other things,” he said.
The Tulum hotel will require thousands of sargasso bricks, which is combined with a resistant mixture to ensure a consistency and waterproofing that, at the end of the day, Vázquez Sánchez says, will be a new innovative source for the region that suffers from sargassum.
In September, Vázquez Sánchez built the first house in the world to be made with sargasso bricks. The small home of 40-square-meters, was built in Puerto Morelos and was shown to be resistant, economic and thermal, making it a great option for low-income families.
The house was built with 60 percent sagrasso and was 100 organic since it was without cement or metal rods, making it between 30 and 40 percent less to build compared to concrete homes.
Omar Vázquez explained that his grandparents’ house was made of adobe, so to build this house, he used part of that technique, but with sargasso. He says that the homes “could only be affected by tremors, which is not a problem since this is not a seismic zone.”
