Ceramics and Architecture. A Moving Facade

Ceramics and Architecture.

A Moving Facade a case study bailey colella

Brick Facade of Behet Bondzio Lin’s Association of the Textile Industry in Munster Germany.

Humans use art as a form of expression often reflecting on life, nature, and the self. As an art form, ceramics is perhaps most notable for exquisite pottery, but it also includes artistic forms generated with brick. Brick is a common building material in architecture around the world but when thoughtfully assembled, it has the potential to transcend its trivial nature and become an art form that contributes significantly to a culture.

Clay is the base material for most ceramic endeavors. When mankind discovered the possibilities with fired clay, a material which is locally found 1.

in most parts of the world, bricks became one of the most important construction materials in architecture.

“Ceramics are all around us. It is one of the most ancient industries on the planet. Once humans discovered that clay could be dug up and formed into objects by first mixing with water and then firing, the industry was born. As early as 24,000 BC, animal and human figurines were made from clay and other materials, and then fired in kilns partially dug into the ground. 10,000 years later, as settled communities were established, tiles were manufactured in Mesopotamia and India. The first use of functional pottery vessels

for storing water and food is thought to be around 9,000 or 10,000 BC. Clay bricks also began to be made around the same time” (Brief History of Ceramics and Glass). As ceramics developed, it was discovered that types of clay with different attributes are suitable for different functions. In architecture today, different types of clay are used to assist the functionality of a building. Throughout history, bricks have been used as a structural as well as decorative element. “Bricks are an ideal architectural material because they are very resistant to compression and can sustain a very large load pressure. (Ceramics are quite Bailey Colella

Study sketches of Behet Bondzio Lin’s Association of the Textile Industry in Munster Germany.

susceptible to shock, however.) Fired clay bricks can be stacked almost endlessly without the added weight affecting the bricks at the base” (Mathieu). Bricks begin to create a volumetric 3D form that allow for spaces within to be created. Bricks become the exterior building material. Bricks define a volumetric space, the space is then further developed by the floors and ceilings. Clay can take on many forms. In pottery, ceramic clay defines the volumetric space of the pot. Clay transformed into bricks becomes the basis for a construction technology where the ceramic properties of the material often contribute to a specific Ceramics and Architecture. A Moving Facade

spatial expression in architecture.

The Northwest German Textile and Garment Industry Headquarters, designed by Behet Bondizio Lin Architekten is located in Münster, Germany.

Designed for a competition, Roland Bondizio and his team translated the “fabric theme” requirement through a brick facade. While the other competitors used actual textile elements, Bondizio captured movement through a solid material. In addition, the legally binding land-use plan required a brick or plaster façade. The firm took on this challenge by, “working with a “metaphor and analogy”, to create an

image of textile moving in the wind, made of stone” (Bondizio). In other words, fired clay bricks, artistically stacked, became a moving façade.

The inspiration behind the building was derived from the alabaster fold of the Beethoven statue by Max Klinger.

The statue is located in the Leipzig Bilder Museum. The statue creates a, “paradoxical perception” (Bondizio). The observer sees a seemingly flowing light scarf over the knees of Beethoven and at the same time realizes that it is made of solid stone.

This kind of spirit was what Bondizio wanted to capture with the new tex2.

Photograph of the Bricks that make up the facade of The Textile Industry in Munster Germany.

tile industry. The process began with a digital photograph of the cloth which was transformed it into pixeled tones of gray. They then reduced the resolution of the photograph to pixels of seven different brightness values.

Each value was then assigned to be a brick. With reference to the pixels in the photograph, a total of 74,000 cut bricks were assigned through a parametric design process. The assigned bricks were then cut at an angle in reference to their assigned tone of gray. These angles increase by 2.5 degrees. A total of seven different modules create a contrast from bright areas and dark to create the impres3.

sion of a moving façade through light and shadow. According to Bondizio, no other material would have created the effect that he wanted. The bricks were able to be altered and changed to represent the analogy to the stone statue.

Roland Bondzio discusses the reasoning behind the clinker brick façade.

The Textile Industry represents over 260 companies that are all involved in the development and production of textile materials. When coming up with the design for the new building he states, it became clear that the building should have its own appear-

ance that was appropriate for a textile association. The appearance of a textile association needed to be clear.

There was an original idea to use an actual textile material for the façade.

This however, was not allowed in the development plan without obtaining special permits. The interpretation of movement with brick ultimately produced a façade that abstractly represents a characteristic of textiles without ever using the actual material. In many ways, Bondzio’s brick building suggests drapery across the façade. When entering the building one moves from the abstraction of textile to actual textile surfaces placed Bailey Colella

Brick Facade of Behet Bondzio Lin’s Association of the Textile Industry in Munster Germany.

throughout the interior. According to the architects, they conducted several studies on the joint of the brick. They discovered that it was most practical to achieve the illusion through the bricks themselves.

The firm began to figure out the construction of the bricks themselves. In collaboration with the Deppe Brick Ceramics Factory from Uelsen-Lemke the formats for the bricks was created. The architects conducted multiple studies testing out different clays, surfaces, patterns, and joints. They concluded that the façade was going to be constructed from the purest brick, Ceramics and Architecture. A Moving Facade

“No additional Chichi, a child would say, ‘this is a brick’” (Bondizio). The firm then began to figure out in detail how the bricks were going to be produced. To achieve the exact cuts of the bricks, Bondizio mentioned several constraints. One was the production process of the Deppe factory, which gave a length limitation of 17cm. The second constraint was the drying process. When bricks dry, they shift and shrink in size. The parametric façade required very low tolerances and respectively an exact placement of each brick. The required precision necessitated that all bricks undergo the same drying process. Lastly, was

the consideration of the overhang.

In this façade, the bricks are not the structural material of the wall, however, as a self-supporting surface, each of the six brick modules had to obtain a stable position in the array.

In other words, the geometry of the brick modules and their respective position to each other in the array of the wall was a critical development for the self-supporting surface where each brick supports the brick on top in addition to balancing the overhanging part that generates the illusion of the moving façade.

Bondzio and his team wanted the 4.

Photographs of the facade at the Textile Industry in Munster Germany.

purest brick which was also resistant to weathering. The choice became a clinker brick called ‘water stop brick’ which requires a specific process of firing that is more costly. Clinker bricks are often used as an ornamental material on building surfaces. Mathieu argues that bricks, “are thus more expensive and they are used strategically on buildings, often on chimneys and other distinctive features, to add texture and visual interest to the surface appearance of the brickwork, which can be otherwise repetitive and predictable. Clinker bricks are often used in Arts and Crafts domestic architecture where they add to the 5.

whimsy and textural qualities of the other materials” (Mathieu). By using this brick and firing process, the wall as whole became more water resistant which made the movement appearance possible. As the clay itself can be altered to achieve specific characteristics, the clay of these bricks was only used to capture the natural color acquired during the firing process without any alterations or material additives.

Bricks can be used as a structural or ornamental element. Roland Bondzio discusses the Hamburger Chilehaus designed by Fritz Höger as one of

the most important examples of brick expressionism. As the Chilehaus and many other buildings demonstrate, while brick is a simple incremental building system, its nuances in clay and color allow for an architectural abstraction through collaborative patterns. As an exemplary contemporary application of brick, the computer and the parametric design of Behet Bondizio made the construction of the moving façade possible. Their parametric program precisely modeled the light and shadows of the façade by positioning every single brick to be assigned a location. The placement of the stones by the craftsmen Bailey Colella

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Study sketches of the Textile Industry in Munster Germany.

had to be based on the parametric instructions. Unlike in a typical masonry building, the masons were given exact sequencing layout for each individually cut brick. Bondizio admits that the major challenge to the construction of the work and extremely demanding for the masons. However, in the end it was ultimately the challenge which led to a level of pride of the work and the extraordinary results that were accomplished.

Ceramics brick play a major role in the history of architecture. Numerous examples have shown masterfully assemblies of the simple incremental Ceramics and Architecture. A Moving Facade

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material to form great spaces and remarkable structures. The Northwest German Textile and Garment Industry Headquarters demonstrates an artistic assembly of the solid material as a

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moving façade.

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