The History of Bricks and Brickmaking
Man has used brick for building purpose for thousands of years. Bricks date back to 7000 BC, which makes them one of the oldest known building materials. They were discovered in southern Turkey at the site of an ancient settlement around the city of Jericho. The first bricks, made in areas with warm climates, were mud bricks dried in the sun for hardening. Ancient Egyptian... read more
What is a joint?
Masonry mortar is used in classic masonry. Open joints of about 10 to 15 mm wide are formed between the bricks. At the end of the working day about 15 to 20 mm of this masonry mortar is scraped out, which creates the necessary space for filling up the facade with a joint mortar. A joint mortar... read more
Types of joints
The form of the joint also influences the appearance of a facade. Of course the height of the joint plays an important role, but the depth is also important. The deeper the joint, the more it will end up in the background. This creates a shadow play between the joint and the facing brick,which especially... read more
Joint colours
When you choose to carry out a classic masonry instead of gluing the bricks, then the joint very much determines the end result. Depending on the brick size that is used, 10 to 20% of the facade can consist of joints. Determining the colour of the joint is a choice that may take up quite some time. After... read more
No joints
When you choose the purely brick effect the joint is a disrupting factor. Increasingly more contractors choose to create a facade without joints. There are 3 known methods for creating a masonry without joints: 1. Bricklaying with thin set mortar 2. Gluing together 3. Traditional masonry with... read more
Brickwork bonds
The way in which a brick is laid – the brickwork bond – also strongly influences the appearance of the facade. A well thoughtout brickwork bond gives projects extra style and character. Brickwork bonds not only have an aesthetic effect; The choice in brickwork bond can also influence the budget... read more
The Gdansk Shakespeare Theatre / Renato Rizzi
It has taken almost a quarter of a century, but now the Shakespearean Theatre in the city of Gdansk (Poland) is open to the public. Architect Renato Rizzi (Italy) used black facing bricks and pavers. This is how he created a new shade and a contrast in the predominantly red brick town... read more
Termitary House / Tropical Space
As builders go, termites do not have many tools at their disposal — just their bodies, soil, and saliva. For guidance they have nothing to go on save variations in wind speed and direction and fluctuations in temperature as the sun rises and sets. Similarly, the Termitary House was built in... read more
Family House In Pavilniai Regional Park / Architectural Bureau G.Natkevicius & Partners
The customer is a banker and antique book collector. A four member family house. In the Middle Ages the area, where the building is situated, was a cannon foundry. Customers bought a site where stood the old yellow brick lodge with a basement. Cleaning the plaster of a house revealed that the... read more
Villa el Libertador Municipal Hospital / Santiago Viale + Ian Dutari + Alejandro Paz
The project is a medium complexity hospital located south of the city of Cordoba, in the populous Villa el Libertador neighborhood. The building responds to a need for health services for a vast section of the lower-middle class population. The project is expressed as a "mono-material... read more
