The advantages of bricks

The advantages of bricks

"... I preferred to use the everlasting brick, which very slowly returns to the soil in which it originated and its imperceptible crumbling collapse takes place in such a way that the building remains a mass, even when it is no longer a fortress, a circus, a tomb..."
M. Yourcenar, "Memorie di Adriano"

Bricks are attractive to look at, but they aren’t cheap. Those who follow this school of thought miss out on two counts. Firstly, they miss the opportunity to offer designers greater scope and secondly, they miss out on a chance to get to know a material to which the term rich can only be applied in relation to its advantages. The visible surface cannot be attacked by chemical and atmospheric agents; it retains its qualities in time and, most importantly, requires no maintenance other than standard cleaning. Not every 5 years, but every 50! Isn’t it better to invest once rather than spend money year after year? Because what really counts is the value of the object. And the visible surface brick is not only worth more, it also enhances the professional skills of the designer.
The visible surface brick is the construction material with the very best hygrometric performance. Thanks to its natural porosity, any damp and steam absorbed are released as soon as the original conditions are restored. The result? Perfect transpiration, increased durability and ideal hygrometric balance in the environment. This performance is obtained by observing just a few simple rules during the design and installation phase. In short, even with regard to damp, visible bricks beat all competition, come rain or shine.
Bricks are made of clay, water and fire. These natural elements classify bricks among traditional, non-chemically treated materials. The finished brick made of natural ingredients ensures that the wall is characterised by healthy transpiration. When our bricks are subject to radon examination, the results show that they contain no radioactivity.
Brick is the manageable material par exellence, easy to assemble and adaptable to various project scales. In exchange, all it requires is observance of tried and tested construction techniques. Nothing a professional doesn’t already know. Proper wetting of the elements, careful selection of the mortar, constant cleaning during the construction process, systematic checks on levelling and alignment, in accordance with the executive instructions and observance of the manufacturer’s recommendations. Basic attention capable of fully enhancing the designer’s creativity, guaranteeing excellent aesthetic results and ensuring reliable performance for years to come.
What was used to make the great works of the past? And those of today? Brick. Brick was the first manmade prefabricated material and today, thousands of years later, it is still the most successful and reliable. Proof is available in the form of the countless constructions which are still with us today thanks to the very fact that they were built of bricks. Continuity in time, evolution of expressive potential: what other material offers so much? Those who think that visible bricks are old-fashioned are way off the mark.
A brick is the product of a mixture of clay and water, dried and baked at high temperature. This is why it comes in an infinite range of colours, from straw yellow to the deepest brownish red. Warm, natural colours which, combined with extreme flexibility in terms of applications, free the designer’s imagination, guaranteeing aesthetic results which are always personal, always man-sized. But that’s not all. The colours and characteristics of visible bricks remain constant in time. This makes it easier to match new bricks with existing ones, helping to maintain the continuity – and therefore the liveability – of the urban fabric.
Brick is an incredibly flexible material. Perfectly complementary modularity, reduced weight and dimensions offer the possibility to create an infinite variety of compositions. It also has an extraordinary ability to integrate perfectly with any material: wood, steel, stone, concrete, glass, etc. And this makes it ideal for any type of architecture, from the simplest to the most daring, and for all kinds of use, from housing to public buildings, from holy constructions to urban furnishings. In short, anyone who thinks that brick restricts creativity must have a really overactive imagination.

 

 

 

 


Bricks that stand the test of time
The advantages of bricks
The history of clay
How a Fornace Ballatore brick is born