Presentation is everything. A little imagination can turn the most mundane into something unique and distinctive. Take bricks for instance. It’s a common building material not particularly attractive or inspiring yet these little nuggets are deceptively versatile. Their size, approximately eight inches long by four inches wide and two inches thick, presents the builder with all sorts of creative possibilities. Sure, you can lay bricks side by side in a uniform pattern – that’s the conventional way – but look what happens if you alter the orientation.
Breaking the plane with brickwork that protrudes from the wall rather than sitting flush results in a mottled look which can turn an ordinary brick box something more interesting. Take a look at this social housing complex in Azcapotzalco, Mexico. In Tehran, Iran, bricks are spaced and angled to create a privacy screen while still allowing light to reach the apartment windows. In Hanoi, Vietnam, bricks support, enclose and ultimately decorate a communal home.
And who says bricks have to follow a linear pattern? The Museum of Modern Art in New York has commissioned a circular tower (look inside) while the folks in Isfahan, Iran, have created FaBRICKate, an experiment in free-form compression-only vaulting. Traditional vaults and domes are stable because their symmetry distributes the load. FaBRICKate used computer modelling to disrupt convention and create its asymmetrical shape. And in a testament to imaginative brick-laying, take a look at the sweeping textured roof of the Brick Spris Coffee Shop in Tehran.
Here are some brick architecture examples from around the world:
