We like to build things and came up with an idea to create ice bricks and construct seasonal structures.

To start off, we made a set of oversized ice cube trays out of Polypropylene plastic, a material that can handle the low temperatures and is flexible enough to twist the cubes out of the tray.

Over sized ice cube tray

To make the trays we simply cut wooden blocks, tapering the sides and rounded the edges. We then prepared a small sheet of plywood by drilling three holes that would be used for the vacuum. Using sandpaper as spacers we fastened the blocks over the holes and onto the plywood leaving a thin space under each form for the vacuum. We then heated the plastic plates until they were pliable, laid them over the form and drew the plastic onto the form.

The forms are then filled with water and in a day or two, depending on the temperature, they are frozen.

Pop the frozen bricks out of the forms and we’re ready to start building. We can produce about 130 bricks or 3 square meters of wall per round.

The ice bricks are then stacked in any fashion we wish. Snow is used as a thin layer of mortar to give the brick a good seat.