16-06-18 // ARCHITECTURAL MATERIAL 1: BRICK & TILE

BOARD contributed with an interview and projects to the publication “Architectural Material 1: Brick & Tile” published by the South Korean Publishing House DAMDI.

The following interview with Bernd Upmeyer on “bricks and tiles” appears in the publication:

Brick

DD: Tell us about your favourite project that you used brick in – it can be in the interior, on the facade, doesn’t matter where it’s used.
Bernd Upmeyer: Until today, we have done only one project in which we used brick, which is the design of a square with urban furniture, a project that we called “Home Outside”. There, we proposed to use brick for the surface of the square to connect it to its context. In that way the typical red brick surface of the neighbourhood could be continued and strong ties to the surroundings created. However, the main element of the square was not the surface, but 3 elements that we added, that are both artistic and functional: a fireplace, a table, and a boat. With these 3 elements we aimed to create a unique square as a work of art, where the inhabitants of the site, called the “Kraanbolwerk”, but also its visitors, can feel at home outside and meet, talk, cook, eat, warm up, and play.

DD: What are the strengths and weaknesses of brick in your opinion?
BU: Some of the strengths of brick are certainly its robustness, longevity, affordability, and ease of use and application. For the project “Home Outside” we wanted to use all of these qualities. But since the square was located on a former industrial site – a former city port, trading, and production location – where a renowned factory called “de Volharding”, that was mainly constructed with brick, once stood, we wanted to connect the project through the use of brick for the square’s surface with the industrial past of the place. In order to deal with one of the weaknesses of brick – namely its lack of reinforcement, making brick easy to assemble but also easy to disassemble – we placed the 3 elements of the square on concrete slabs with engraved in them information about the meaning behind the elements…

… the entire interview can be read in Writings.

Title: Architectural Material 1: Brick & Tile
Contribution: Brick & Tile
Author: Bernd Upmeyer, BOARD
Date: June 2018
Publisher: DAMDI
Location: Seoul, South Korea
ISBN: 978-89-6801-080-4
Pages: 10, 15, 24, 27, 31, 34, 38, 72-75, 420