The winner of the 2023 ‘Good Design Award for Sustainability’ implemented the use of fly ash to help reduce CO2 emissions in their new ‘Erosion Mitigation Units’ (EMU).

The award recognises projects that embody excellence in design for sustainability and circular economy principles, and was awarded to Reef Design Lab, a company who creates and constructs coastal erosion solutions that are sustainable.

The company has created ‘EMU’s’, a series of swell reducing artificial reef modules that form a permeable barrier to decrease the height and energy of waves.

Not only do they reduce wave strength, but they also provide a valuable habitat for native sea creatures and offer an amazing sight for snorkelers.

A decade in the making, the landmark EMU’s were installed at Clifton Springs, in Victoria earlier this year.

The manufacturing process saw the use of an eco-friendly concrete mix that used fly ash and various other by-products to reduce the cement content and lower carbon emissions.

Reef Design Lab’s also incorporated recycled shells, something that Ralph Roobt, the Senior Environmental Engineer suggested.

The inclusion of these shells resulted in a weakened mix. To mitigate this issue, they vibrated and cast the units in a way which saw the shells rise to the top of the surface.

From the traditional concepts of cast concrete blocks to reduce coastal erosion, these new Erosion Mitigation Units provide a much more sustainable, eco-friendly, and user-friendly way to limit the effects that large swells have on our coastlines.