bbnews.

qxd 2/2/2005 4:54 PM Page 72

NEWS

Fresh take on traditional brickwork

An innovative structural shell system looks
set to give modern housebuilding a significant
boost by eliminating conventional cavity
construction. Traditional Plus, which was
developed by Stoke-based CERAM, is a single
leaf masonry system with a reduced wall
thickness. This can help maximise the
development potential of sites and so will no
doubt prove of interest to housebuilders.
An improved version of a system developed
in the 1980s, Traditional Plus uses wider,
140 mm extruded, perforated clay bricks that
are laid conventionally with mortar and then
lined internally with waterproof insulation and
plasterboard finish. Benefits include enhanced
stability during construction, greater
insulation and proven acoustic performance.
Furthermore, the construction meets all
regulatory requirements, uses skills efficiently
and is strong on economic and environmental
grounds.
So why is it called Traditional Plus? Cerams
Geoff Edgell explains: The system is a
modern method of construction but it uses
technology that people are already using. Its
faster to build, Im sure its cheaper and it
gives the same performance as a cavity wall.
This last claim is borne out by findings from
a two-storey pilot building constructed
recently in Burton-on-Trent, which showed
that the single-skin system is as good
structurally as a cavity wall. Not only is there
less structure to build, but the wind resistance
of the 140 mm thick wall is similar to that of a
cavity wall. As for water penetration, any
ingress is redirected out through weep holes,
just like in a typical cavity wall.
Traditional Plus can typically achieve a
U-value of 0.26 W/m2K and uses specially
developed joist hangers to make floor to wall
connections. Although strip footings are
adequate as foundations, the wall
construction is also compatible with some pile
and ground beam systems.
Michael Driver, BDA director, states: The
project represents a significant advance for
brick as a modern material of construction.
The single skin will reduce build times, use
labour efficiently while producing the solid,
durable homes desired by the public.
Traditional Plus is a collaboration between
CERAM, the Brick Development Association,
Ibstock Brick, Roger Bullivant, Westbury
Homes, NHBC and DTI.

Campbell lecture is hot stuff Glass turns bricks green

More than 70 people
crammed into Londons
Building Centre on 16 June, a
hot and humid evening, to
hear Dr James Campbells
lecture on modern
brickwork. The architect and
academic gave a well-
illustrated tour of the role of
brick in modern 20th
century architecture,
highlighting its use by modern masters such as Louis Kahn, Le
Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe and others.
Despite the high temperatures, the subject matter itself was the
main draw for much of the audience, many of whom were young,
newly qualified architects. Several attendees said they were attracted
by the emphasis on brick in Modernism.
The lecture, which will now become an annual BDA event, was
organised by the Building Centre Trust in conjunction with the BDA,
Ibstock Brick and Hanson Building Products. Next years lecture will take
place at The Building Centre in May. Watch this space for further details.
The term green brick looks set to take on new significance, thanks to
a two-year Ceram/BDA investigation assessing the use of powdered
glass in brick and paver manufacture.
The project found that powdered recycled container glass
(predominanatly green in the UK) added to unfired clay can result in
energy savings of 20% and reductions in hydrogen fluoride emissions
of up to 33%.
The additions resulted in reduced temperatures and firing times and
improvements in the physical quality and durability of bricks and
pavers. In the case of engineering bricks, it was found that strength
and water absorption were also enhanced. Other knock-on effects
include improved productivity, lower costs and a more efficient and
sustainable manufacturing process, not to mention less glass going to
landfill.
Although not a new concept, it was not until the findings of this
project that the true benefits of using glass as a fluxing agent in brick
manufacture were identified. The study was funded by the Waste and
Resources Action Programme (WRAP) in collaboration with industry
manufacturing partners Blockleys Brick, Hanson Building Products and
York Handmade Brick Company, with Glass Recycling Group acting as
glass reprocessor and supplier.

Brick Awards shortlist announced

Some of the most stunning contemporary brick buildings of
recent years are included in the Brick Awards 2004 Shortlist
which can be seen in the News section of the BDA website at
www.brick.org.uk
This years Awards have seen record entries with each category
being hotly contested. The winners will be announced at the
celebrated Brick Awards dinner and presentation ceremony on
Wednesday 3 November at The Grosvenor House Hotel, Park
Lane, London. For ticket details email clare@createvents.co.uk
or call 0870 241 9902.
See Buildings 5 November issue for the awards supplement,
with the full list of winners and picture gallery.

2 BRICK BULLETIN
bbnews.qxd 2/2/2005 4:54 PM Page 73

B R I C K
BULLETIN

Euro standard for clay The Better Brickwork

masonry hits rocky patch Alliance has been
The arrival of BS EN 771-1 for clay masonry units in autumn 2003 functioning for five
was a landmark in the introduction of harmonised standards for
construction products. However, the programme has suffered an years. It is a forum for
unexpected setback due to German unease over the standard. brick and block
Consequently, CE marking for clay bricks to BS EN 771-1 will now only
be possible from about December 2004; and that the outdated manufacturers, mortar producers,
standards of BS 3921 and BS 6649 that the new standard is replacing brickwork subcontractors, the Guild of
will be withdrawn in about December 2005. This means designers and
specifiers of clay brick have longer to become acquainted with the Bricklayers, the Worshipful Company of
new harmonised standard before the old British Standards are Tylers and Bricklayers, the Transport
withdrawn.
Full details of what is happening and when, as well as useful and General Workers Union and the
information on harmonisation, can be found on the BDA website. CITB to meet and discuss concerns.
The chairmanship of John White of
Read up on structural masonry Persimmon Homes has focussed the
genius and ceramic technology Alliance on recruitment and training of
Testing of Ceramics in bricklayers. Several initiatives have
Construction (Whittles
Publishing), edited by been launched, including the "Get a Life
Professor Geoff Edgell and with Brick" campaign and setting up
due to be published in
November, deals with the links between manufacturers and
main ceramic elements used schools and colleges. And the Guild and
in the construction industry.
Standard tests on bricks, the Worshipful Company have been
tiles and pipes are included, working with CITB to introduce a Master
as well as on larger
elements such as walls, with Craftsman award.
full scale testing also Finally, the Association of Brickwork
featured. Tests concentrate
mainly on new products and Contractors has been formed, with
structures as well as Bill Preston of Bovis Lend Lease as
techniques for dealing with
the performance and president and Geoff Irvine of Irvine
condition of existing Whitlock as chairman. This group has
structures. Further details
from three objectives: work quality, health
www.whittlespublishing.com and safety, and training. The 20 member
A book on the Uruguayan structural engineer Eladio Dieste has been
hailed as the first comprehensive analysis of his work to be published firms have committed to training 120
in English. Eladio Dieste: Innovation in Structural Art, (Princeton new entrants to the trade this year.
Architectural Press, 2004, edited by Stanford Anderson) analyses in
detail Diestes revolutionary approach to structural masonry in mostly John White, who stepped down as BBA
reinforced and post-tensioned brickwork. The book includes three of chairman in September, leaves a legacy
his essays on art, culture and technology and comes at a time of
renewed interest in Diestes work. Inspirational reading for all with an of energy and enthusiasm that I am
interest in brickwork. confident will be further galvanised by
his successor, David Armitage of York
Get your own copy of Handmade Brick.
Brick Bulletin free! Michael Driver, director,
Reading this Brick Bulletin as part of Building magazine? Brick Development Association
Why not get every edition sent to you free of charge?
Separate copies of Brick Bulletin are available from the BDA editor George Demetri co-ordinating editor Andy Pearson
production editor Joannah Connolly art editor Alex
call 01344-885651 for more information. Alternatively, you can
McFadyen reproduction London Pre-press printing by
download past issues from www.brick.org.uk St Ives plc ISSN 0307-9325

BRICK BULLETIN 3
PG74-75 V2.qxd 2/2/2005 4:55 PM Page 74

IN PICTURES

ACCENT COLOURS
Ireland, Home Counties, East
Anglia, London and Lincoln the
dialects may be wildly different
but they are all home to warm
and wonderful brick buildings

A
B

4 BRICK BULLETIN
PG74-75 V2.qxd 2/2/2005 4:55 PM Page 75

C A
Performing arts and
teaching building,
Oxford Community School:
Atkins Architects striking
performing arts & teaching
facility at Oxford
Community School, Oxford,
features warm red brickwork
in conjunction with render
and cedar cladding.
Burton Mews, Lincoln:
B National and local
planning guidance did not
hinder good design at LKR
Architects' Burton Mews
housing in Lincoln, where
brick forms a vibrant
element.
Stonebridge
C Estate, London:

D Architect Shepheard
Epstein & Hunter used
brick extensively as a
unifying element at the
stylish Stonebridge housing
estate at Harlesden,
north-west London.
The Forum, Norwich:
D Hopkins Architects'
library, visitor centre and
learning resource for the
BBC uses English-bonded
brickwork to give Norwich
an impressive horseshoe-
shaped landmark.
Upper Dominick
E Street, Dublin:
Dublin City Council
Architects wanted a strong,
lively identity for this
rationalist scheme of 46
social housing apartments
and community facilities
at Upper Dominick Street
in Dublin.

BRICK BULLETIN 5
PG76-79 V2.qxd 2/2/2005 4:57 PM Page 76

WHOS A
CLEVER BOX? MacCormac Jamieson Prichard definitely took the
right angle in its latest scheme, a brain research
debate centre at Londons most cerebral museum.
George Demetri reports
All images Peter Durant/Arcblue.com

6 BRICK BULLETIN
PG76-79 V2.qxd 2/2/2005 4:57 PM Page 77

T he term box, when used to describe a

Queens Gate elevation shows the complex relationship
between brickwork and the other elements
building, is rarely intended to be
complimentary. Yet architect MacCormac
Jamieson Prichard has created a cool,
elegant, stylish, rectangular, orange building for which
the term box is wholly appropriate. The building forms
the second phase of the firms 1996 competition-
winning scheme for the Wellcome Wing extension to
the Science Museum an impressive addition to one of
Londons most important cultural quarters.
Called the Wellcome Wolfson Building, this second
phase is the result of the Science Museum and the
British Association for the Advancement of Science
getting together to create a national centre for
scientific debate. These two partners were later joined
by the European Dana Alliance for the Brain, an
organisation of leading European brain scientists that
exists to raise the public profile of brain research. The
brainchild that finally spawned was the Dana Centre
whose remit is to encourage scientific debate among
the 18-35 audience through broadcast and web-based
activities.
The centre takes up the lower three floors of the
seven-storey Wellcome building. It comprises a 150-
seater auditorium the Lab capable of staging
various debating modes, including proscenium and in
the round; a seminar room for 80 people, a gallery-
cum-exhibition area and a double height cafebar. The
three floors above it are rentable low-energy office
space, and the top storey belongs to the Dana Centre
director and includes a private office and two-bedroom
flat. The Science Museum will be renting one of the
office floors to replace the office accommodation that
was lost when the Wellcome Wing extension was
completed in 2001.
Situated at the rear of the Science Museum, which is
in Exhibition Road, the new building had to respond to
a difficult location. Its site extends from the back of the
existing Science Museum to its western boundary at
Queens Gate. Large-scale institutional buildings prevail
at one end of the site in the form of the Science and
Natural History Museums and Imperial College, whereas
at the Queens Gate end, the redbrick and stucco of the
Victorian residences is dominant.
The building has acknowledged its Victorian
neighbours by continuing the line of the adjacent
terrace a detail reinforced by aligning its eaves with
the parapet levels of the adjacent terraces. And, by
selecting brick for the buildings facades, the architect
recognised the domestic scale and materials of Queens
Gate. The vibrant orange-red sandfaced stock brick is a
perfect match with that of the neighbouring Victorian
buildings and is almost indistinguishable from the next-
door Sultanate of Oman building.
To create the buildings facades, large vertical planes
of brickwork soar skywards, just stopping short of the
projecting eaves and imparting a sense of strength and
stability. The brick-faced cavity walls on the project
comprise a block inner leaf and a 100 mm wide cavity
containing 50 mm closed cell insulation. Movement
joints are so discreet throughout the building, they are
difficult to discern. Horizontal joints are located at
every floor level beneath stainless steel angles that are
tied back to the concrete slab. Vertical movement

BRICK BULLETIN 7
PG76-79 V2.qxd 2/2/2005 4:57 PM Page 78
The multistorey brickwork
that frames the building
is articulated by 40 mm
terracotta string courses

joints are also well-camouflaged with a sealant that
perfectly matches the brickwork.
On the Queens Gate elevation, the first-floor main
auditorium is expressed as a white protruding concrete
box, which is part-glazed and part-panelled. This
rectangular element is also found on the rear elevation
facing the Science Museum. A double-height concrete
ceremonial arch denotes the main entrance. Standing
proud of the building line, it contrasts vividly against
the red brickwork and enhances the effect of advancing
and receding planes helping to give this elevation a
sense of continual movement and depth. A bay window
situated to the left of the archway also protrudes from
the main building line and extends through the three
storeys of office accommodation.
Wherever brickwork is cut back to reveal the
buildings other component parts, the leading edge is
expressed as a slightly projecting 102 mm thick brick
single skin capped with aluminium flashings. This is
achieved by recessed black polyester, powder-coated,
insulated aluminium panels that close off the cavity to
8 BRICK BULLETIN
give the appearance of a single, unrestrained brick skin.
Located at every 14th brick course, 40 mm deep, red
terracotta string courses provide a contrasting texture
to the brickwork and reflect the banding on the
neighbouring 19th century buildings. Although the
effect is subtle, it is nevertheless effective in breaking
down the large expanse of brickwork. Brick partially
forms the north and east elevations and maintains the
same relationships between glazing and brise soleil.
On the rear elevation, things start to change quite
dramatically with little brickwork in evidence, apart
from that of the northern stair and lift tower. This east
side is on a much larger scale displaying a harder, more
institutional character in response to its proximity to
the buildings of Exhibition Road. One gets a glimpse of
the structures reinforced concrete frame, expressed as
triple height columns located in front of the glazing and
framing the auditorium box. From the outside, the office
floors are denoted by the immense, 700 mm deep
aluminium brise soleil. This will reduce solar heat gain
when the sun is at a low angle. Hung from the buildings
PG76-79 V2.qxd 2/2/2005 4:57 PM Page 79

concrete soffit, its triple-storey extent and giant Above left: The view of the east side
proportions add an impressive monumentality to the facing the Science Museum shows
building. It is restrained back to the concrete frame by the first-floor auditorium clearly,
pins penetrating the glazing and which connect to the framed as it is in a white box
cleaning gantry. The whole ensemble is bookended by Above: The west elevation from
glazed staircase towers to produce a symmetry that is Queens Gate
lacking on the Queens Gate frontage.
The museums brief for an environmentally
sustainable building has resulted in low-energy office
spaces boasting reductions in energy use and carbon
emissions of about 20%. A hybrid control system
supplies background fresh air through floor grilles, Section through the brickwork
combined with fully openable windows. Fairfaced insitu at fifth-floor level
concrete columns and exposed soffits are subjected to
nightime cooling, thanks to trickle ventilation and
automatically operated windows that allow cool air to
flow over the exposed concrete. This is complemented
during the day by effective reduction of solar heat
gains, good natural lighting and provision for greywater
recycling.
Completed in June 2003 at a total cost of 8.5m
under a JCT 98 design- and-build contract, the new
building is part of Albertopolis, the cultural quarter
that was developed gradually following the success of
the Great Exhibitions of 1851 and 1862. The area
features a string of high-profile buildings that include
the Royal Albert Hall and the Natural History Museum.

The latest in this eminent line, the Wellcome Wolfson
Building, offers a much-needed break with the past and
injects vibrancy and contemporary style into an area
dominated by the ideals of the 19th century. Buildings Pressed aluminium coping
dont come much cleverer than that. 40 mm deep terracota string course
102 mm wide facing brick work
High-performance rigid insulation
Lightweight blockwork
Project team Mild steel structural support
Architect MacCormac Jamieson Prichard Plasterboard lining
Main contractor Haymills Insulated pressed aluminium gutter
Structural and M&E engineer Ove Arup & Partners Curtain walling system
Brickwork subcontractor Moss Barrett Construction
QS Davis Langdon

BRICK BULLETIN 9
PG80-82.qxd 2/2/2005 4:58 PM Page 80

Left: Yellow brickwork on

Culver Road is articualated
by elegant stone dressings.
Butterfly rooflights crown
each pavilion

SWEET HARMONY
A symphony of styles and a chorus of materials all
blend to melodic effect at Winchester Colleges music
school extension ably orchestrated by NVB Architects.
George Demetri reviews the building

T he adventurous design by NVB Architects for

a modern extension to Winchester Colleges
music school is a successful exercise in
blending the contemporary with the historic.
The extensions bold design gives it an assured
presence among the colleges impressive assortment of
ancient buildings, including some impressive Victorian
Gothic designs by William Butterfield. At the same time,
the buildings yellow brick-clad facade allows it to blend
seamlessly with college architecture dating back 600
years to when the school was founded by William of
Wykeham in the 14th century.
Work on the music schools 2.65m extension started
on site in spring 2003. NVB Architects extension is
something of a misnomer given the building looks and
feels every bit an independent structure. It is only
linked to the music schools existing building a listed,
rather lifeless 1920s affair designed by ES Prior by a
new staircase. Included in the contractors brief is the
refurbishment of this existing building.
The extension will provide much needed teaching and
rehearsal rooms as well as a recording studio, technology
centre, keyboard laboratory, library and recital room, all
playing a crucial role in the provision of more than 700
music lessons per week. A spacious ground floor foyer
offers generous circulation space for staff, pupils and
visitors and is an important feature given that the local
community will also use the music school.
Seen from Culver Road, the main elements of the
design are three yellow brick pavilions articulated by
stone dressings and zinc cladding. These staggered
forms are a direct expression of the internal room
acoustics and each is crowned by a dramatic butterfly
rooflight over the second floor ensemble rooms. Larger
than the normal practice and teaching spaces, these
rooms are intended for recitals with small audiences.
The whole assemblage creates a highly sculptured
building that is contained at either end by brick and
zinc staircases.
Yellow brick is the main construction material,
dressed elegantly in places by a creamy yellow oolitic
limestone. This is prominent on the pavilions as large
aprons flanking and forming the sill to the glazing of
the ensemble rooms on the top floors and also

10 BRICK BULLETIN
PG80-82.qxd 2/2/2005 4:58 PM Page 81

articulating the windows on the lower floors. Zinc has

been used both as a roofing material and as cladding to
parts of the elevations. Installed in horizontal standing
seam format to give a more flowing emphasis, the zinc
serves as both a linking and a separating element
between pavilions.
Despite giving the appearance of being square, a look
at the buildings plan reveals that each of the pavilions
is actually lozenge-shaped. This is not simple shape-
making, but more down to achieving optimal acoustics
by avoiding right angles: arranging walls in non-parallel
configurations reduces the incidence of standing waves
and echoes. Each pavilion has its own suite of teaching
and practice rooms arranged in a cruciform shape.
These are separated by circulation areas and stores
also lozenge-shaped to further aid acoustic isolation.
On the opposite side, where the new building looks
out over a landscaped courtyard, the heavy brick and
stone elevations make way for much lighter glazing to
express the circulation areas and allow light in and
views out. Protruding brick fins break up the glazing,
establishing a quick rhythm as brickwork alternates
with glazing. The resulting crenulated profile expresses
the internal planning arrangement as circulation skirts
around the staggered pavilions. Traditional red brick
garden walls, used to continue the existing wall around
the site, are designed to maintain a clear street
definition and form a foil to the mass yellow brickwork.

Left: An eye-catching
brick-and-flint
arrangement at the car
park entrance
All pictures: NVB Architects/Iinterserve projects

BRICK BULLETIN 11
PG80-82.qxd 2/2/2005 4:58 PM Page 82
Plan of first floor
blue: New music school teaching
accommodation
yellow: Original practice rooms
green: Original auditorium
Right: Rear elevation from
the courtyard showing
glazed circulation areas
and protruding brick fins
The buildings load-bearing masonry structure was
determined by simplicity and financial considerations.
Pre-cast concrete floor planks span between internal
blockwork walls and brick cavity walls comprising a
220 mm thick blockwork inner leaf, which fulfils both
structural and acoustic functions. The chamfered
brickwork at the window reveals on the pavilion lower
floors gives a hint of this thickness.
No brick specials were used on the project but
achieving the lozenge corners and the curved
staircases necessitated cutting and sticking the bricks
to form. Fixing the stonework was also not difficult as
it is held in place by the mass of brickwork above. Only
in a few places were stainless steel fixings required.
Throughout the job, standard cementlimesand
mortars were used and it is a tribute to the bricklayers
12 BRICK BULLETIN
Project team
Client Winchester College
Architect NVB Architects
Quantity surveyor Wilson Large
Structural engineer Scott-White & Hookins
Services consultant Buro Happold
Acoustic consultant Arup Acoustic
Brickwork Bricklayers Ltd (Bournemouth)
Main contractor Interserve
skills that a uniform appearance was achieved despite
the use of natural sands.
The architect reports no particular problems on site,
apart from some slight difficulty in setting out the
complex angular arrangement of the lozenge-shaped
towers. This was resolved competently by the
bricklayers to give a very high standard of finish.
At Winchester College, the architect has responded
to a delicate site with a solution that is as bold as it is
functional. The extension is a fine example of how
contemporary brick architecture can complement and
enliven historic environments. It also shows a degree
of enlightenment on the part of a traditionally
conservative city council when it decides that the
creation of a pluralistic urban tapestry is more
important than preserving everything in a time warp.
PG83.qxd 2/2/2005 4:59 PM Page 83
Down the red-brick road
Its not a path we star architects often take, admits Will Alsop, but thats only
because of unfortunate associations with conservatism and executive boxes
rick, of the earth and reflecting its variety of
B colours and textures, suggests essentiality
the basic building block of civilisation. But no
architect who might consider themselves an
innovator has used brick to any great extent for more
than 100 years. I feel a certain incongruity in offering
myself as a commentator on a material that I hardly
ever use and yet in fact I know more than I care to
admit about building in brick. I can recall that as a very
junior architect, working in Northampton in the 1960s,
all the projects on the drawing boards were in brick. In
consequence, the techniques of brick construction were
drummed in to me at an impressionable age.
My reluctance to engage with brickwork nowadays
is its lamentable appropriation by the forces of
conservatism in this country, which gives us modern
executive homes, sprouting from prosperous towns
and eating away the green belt. This sort of
development garbs itself in deep red bricks, indifferent
to the colour of the local stone or clay, occasionally
thrown into contrast by stone quoins. The effect is
meretricious and yet housebuilders assure us it is what
is demanded by the market. I beg to differ.
Brick is today devalued by such efforts at conformity.
Slapped to the sides of buildings in prefabricated
panels, it masks a steel or concrete frame that could be
judged beautiful if one were allowed to see it. Good
architecture is more than superficial appearance.
Planners dictates ensure that brick facings are used in
historic contexts, whereas in the 1960s architects would
have been challenged to add to the continuing heritage;
there would be small chance of realising a building of
the striking modernity of Coventry Cathedral now a
listed building in todays climate of style-policing.
None of this tempts me down the brick road but I am
well aware of its exploitation in the past by architects
making bold and radical gestures in colour and form.
One thinks instinctively of the Jacobean period and the
great flourishes of wealth in country houses like
Blicking or Oxburgh Halls in Norfolk. It is hard to
imagine an architect working in traditional materials
VIEWPOINT
today who would embark on the rich palette of
crenellated gables and chimneystacks that give
Oxburgh its distinguished roofline. Nineteenth-century
revivalists such as Butterfield revelled in brick as a
political tool Keble College, with its celebrated chapel,
is an essay in polychromatic romance that defies the
acceptable Gothic of John Ruskin and the
ecclesiologists, just as John Kebles Oxford movement
had challenged the hegemony of the Church of
England. The Midland Hotel at St Pancras Station
shares in this spirit of noisy revolution. So it is
therefore sad to note the contemporary marginalisation
of brick to its current role as a standard for the
heritage lobby and those who suck up to them.
I am easily roused to creative exploration and would
welcome the opportunity to push the use of brick to
new limits. Brick can express forms clearly and
articulates curves particularly well. I am predisposed to
curved form as it is a clear way in which architecture
can draw upon pictorial art and one of its principal
devices. A good building, of course, works in three
dimensions, positing movement through space; bricks
intimate responsiveness lends itself to successive
moments of detail, surprise and delight. Its humanising
qualities and warm colour contribute to the effect. The
same is true when contemplating projects of larger
scale; the eye is led upward to spectacular effect by the
rising courses of a brick viaduct. A picture emerges of a
considered architecture of a most sensual kind.
But it is not only architects who must take up the
challenge. Our friends the structural engineers have all
but abandoned the material, but once Stockport
Viaduct would have been considered as wonderous as
Norman Fosters new Millau Crossing. Bricks current
employment, as a result, is stubbornly earthbound for
my tastes; the vault and arched span are surely due a
comeback? You will certainly not find them enlivening
the estates of volume housebuilding, and so long as
these remain the main outlet of this protean material, it
is still going to suffer a poor press among the
architectural cognoscenti.
BRICK BULLETIN 13
PG84-85.qxd 2/2/2005 5:00 PM Page 84
TECHNICAL
UNDERSTANDING
In the second of a two-part series, Michael Hammett considers the crucial issues
urability is a very important
D consideration for all external
brickwork. Freezing and thawing of
mortar in a saturated, or near
saturated, state may cause it to crumble. In
brickwork that is wet for long periods, soluble
sulfates that are present in some bricks can
migrate in solution to the mortar joints where
sulfate attack may occur a chemical
reaction with a constituent of Portland
cement that causes disintegration of the
mortar.
Mortar with high cement content (that is,
1:3 cement:sand) is very durable. Reducing
cement content decreases durability and so
it is cut down in stages to suit less hostile
environments. Inclusion of lime and air
entrainment in a mortar binder improves
workability during laying and also provides
resistance to damage by frost and sulfate
attack. Where risk of sulfate attack is high,
Sulfate Resisting Portland cement (SRPC) is
recommended.
Table 2 specifies appropriate bricks and
mortar for various brickwork structures.
Availability
Mortar can be mixed from basic constituents,
but today less than 25% of mortar is
produced on site. The convenience and
quality control of factory produced ready-
made mortars, frequently including colour
pigment, have become increasingly
attractive.
Retarded ready-to-use mortars are now
used for 35% of work and limesand ready
TABLE 1: MORTAR MIXES
This table lists four types of mortar based on Portland cement as a binder and the proportions, by volume, of the constituents in various
mixes. Mixes are grouped in four designations of approximately equal strength and durability.
Type of mortar Cement:lime:sand
Binder content Portland cement and lime,
with or without air
entraining additive
Designation (i) 1:0 to 0.25:3
(ii) 1:0.5:4 to 4.5
(iii) 1:1:5 to 6
(iv) 1:2:8 to 9
Note: The range of sand volumes noted in this table allow for the differences in grading on the void volume. The lower volumes apply to Type
G graded sands of BS 1199 and BS 1200 and the higher volumes to Type S. Mortar with both lime and air entrainment can be used with any
sands within grading defined in BS 1199 and BS 1200.
14 BRICK BULLETIN
mix (requiring the addition of Portland
cement and water) accounts for 31%. Dry
constituents supplied in special silos with
integral mixers (requiring electrical
connection and water supply) are used for
10% of work.*
Appearance
The surface area of mortar in brickwork
varies according to the bond pattern. In
stretcher bond it is a little more than 17%, in
English and Flemish bonds about 20% and in
curved work of header bond it can be as
much as 25%. It is never insignificant and
workmanship must insure consistency of
colour, texture and size of the joints if the
brickwork is to look good. When matching
existing brickwork, matching the mortar
colour, texture and joint characteristics are as
important as matching the bricks.
The colours of sand, cement and lime vary
according to their sources and therefore
consistency of supply throughout the job is
very important.
Pigments can be added to colour mortar;
typically earth-coloured metallic oxides
(reds, browns, buffs, yellow, grey and black)
conforming to BS EN 12878. Small amounts
are very effective, but never use more than
10%, by weight, of the cement (3% for
carbon black).
It is difficult to maintain colour consistency
if pigments are added to mortar mixed in
small amounts. Preferably, mix together all
the sand, lime and pigment as coarse stuff
and add cement to complete batches of
Masonry cement:sand
Masonry cement containing Masonry cement containing
Portland cement and lime in Portland cement (min 75%) and
approx. 1:1 ratio, and inorganic materials other than
air entraining additive lime and air entraining additive
- -
1:3 1:2.5 to 3.5
1:3.5 to 4 1:4 to 5
1:4.5 1:5.5 to 6.5
Mortar Industry Association
Finishing the mortar with a bucket handle
mortar as required.
In the UK, for economy, it is normal to
finish joints as work proceeds. The small
extra cost of pigmented mortar does not
alter this preference. However, white mortar
is made from white Portland cement, white
lime and white sand and these materials are
relatively expensive. Therefore, when white
joints are required, the brickwork is laid in
normal mortar with recessed joints for
subsequent pointing with white mortar.
For more extensive commentary on
mortar see BDA publications TIP 8,
A Basic Guide to Brickwork Mortars,
and PBM 1.3, The Use of Traditional
Lime Mortar in Modern Brickwork.
Visit the BDA website for details:
www.brick.org.uk/publications
* Statistics from the Mortar Industry
Association: www.mortar.org.uk
Cement:sand (plasticised)
Portland cement and an air
entraining additive
-
1:3 to 4
1:5 to 6
1:7 to 8
PG84-85.qxd 2/2/2005 5:00 PM Page 85

PART T
WO

BRICK MORTARS
of durability, availability and appearance and recaps on some useful specifications

TABLE 2: BRICK AND MORTAR SPECIFICATIONS

This table offers the appropriate specification of clay bricks and mortar for various building types

Situation Brick durability Mortar designation Remarks

BS 3921 EN 771-1
Work below or near external ground level
Low risk of saturation, FL, FN, ML or MN F1 or F2: S1 or S2 (i), (ii) or (iii)
with or without freezing
High risk of saturation, FL F2: S2 (i) or (ii)
with freezing FN F2: S1 (i) or (ii*) * with SRPC
Drainage manholes FL, FN, ML or MN F1 or F2:S1 or S2 (i)
External walls of buildings (unrendered) excluding chimneys, parapets, cappings, copings and sills
Low risk of saturation FL, FN, ML or MN F1 or F2:S1 or S2 (i), (ii) or (iii)
High risk of saturation FL F2: S2 (i) or (ii)
FN F2: S1 (i) or (ii*) * with SRPC
Parapet walls (unrendered)
Low risk of saturation, FL or ML F1, F2: S2 (i), (ii) or (iii)
e.g. low parapets with FN or MN F1, F2: S1 (i), (ii*) or (iii*) * with SRPC
copings on some
single storey buildings
High risk of saturation, FL F2: S2 (i) or (ii)
e.g. where only a FN F2: S1 (i) or (ii*) * with SRPC
capping is provided
Cappings, copings and sills
Cappings, copings FL or FN F2: S1 or S2 (i) Bed DPCs under cappings,
and sills copings and sills in the
same mortar
Freestanding garden walls
With coping FL or ML F1, F2: S2 (i), (ii) or (iii)
FN or MN F1, F2: S1 (i) or (ii) (ii) mortar with SRPC in
exposed locations
With capping FL F2: S2 (i) or (ii)
FN F2: S1 (i) or (ii) with SRPC
Earth retaining walls * Backfilling with free-draining material is strongly recommended
With coping and FL or ML F1, F2: S2 (i) or (ii)
waterproof membrane FN or MN F1, F2: S1 (i) or (ii*) * with SRPC
on retaining face
With capping, or with FL or FN F2: S1 or S2 (i) A waterproof membrane on
coping but no waterproof the retaining face is
membrane on retaining face strongly recommended

Note: BS 3921: 1985, the British Standard Specification for Clay Bricks, is in the process of being replaced by BS EN 771-1: 2003, the
European Standard for Clay Masonry Units. They will run concurrently until around December 2005.

Key
Designation letters for brick durability and soluble salts content differ between BS 3921 and EN 771-1.
In BS 3921:1985
Brick durability: F=frost resistant M=moderately frost resistant O=not frost resistant
Soluble salts content: L=low soluble salts content N=normal soluble salts content
In BS EN 771-1:2003
Brick durability: F2=severe exposure F1=moderate exposure F0=passive exposure
Soluble salts content: S2=lower content category S1=higher content category S0=No requirement category

SRPC=Sulphate resisting Portland cement

BRICK BULLETIN 15
PG86.qxd 2/2/2005 5:00 PM Page 86

DIRECTORY The Brick Development Associations member companies

Baggeridge Brick Coleford Brick & Tile Marshalls Clay Products Tarmac Wilnecote Brick
T 01902-880555 T 01594-822160 T 0113 220 3500 T 01827-280050
F 01902-880432 F 01594-826655 F 0113 220 3555 F 01827-281161
enquiries@baggeridge.co.uk sales@colefordbrick.co.uk www.marshalls.co.uk elaine@wilnecotebrick.co.uk
www.baggeridge.co.uk www.colefordbrick.co.uk www.wilnecotebrick.co.uk
Michelmersh Brick & Tile
Blockleys Brick Dunton Brothers T 01794-368506 Tyrone Brick
T 01952-251933 T 01494-772111 F 01794-368845 T 02887-723421
F 01952-265370 F 01494-791255 sales@michelmersh.co.uk F 02887-727193
sales@blockleys.com sales@dunton.com www.michelmersh.com www.tyrone-brick.com
www.blockleys.com www.duntons.com
Normanton Brick Co The York Handmade
Bovingdon Brickworks Freshfield Lane T 01924 892142/895863 Brick Co
T 01442-833176 Brickworks F 01924 223455 T 01347-838881
F 01442-834539 T 01825-790350 F 01347-838885
info@bovingdonbrickworks.co.uk F 01825-790779 Northcot Brick sales@yorkhandmade.co.uk
www.bovingdonbrickworks.co.uk sales@flb.uk.com T 01386 700551 www.yorkhandmade.co.uk
www.flb.uk.com F 01386 700852
Broadmoor Brickworks info@northcotbrick.co.uk
The Brick Development
T 01594-822255 Hammill Brick www.northcotbrick.co.uk Association
F 01594-826782 T 01304-617613 T 01344-885651
davidnevitt@broadmoor-brickworks.co.uk F 01304-611036 Ormonde Brick F 01344-890129
T +353 (0)5644-41323 brick@brick.org.uk
Bulmer Brick & Tile Co Hanson Building F +353 (0)5644-41314 www.brick.org.uk
T 01787-269232 Products
F 01787-269040 T 0870-609 7092 Phoenix Brick Company
bbt@bulmerbrickandtile.co.uk F 01234-762040 T 01246-233223
info@hansonbp.com F 01246-230777
Carlton Brick www.hansonbrick.com www.bricksfromphoenix.co.uk
T 01226-711521 enquiries@bricksfromphoenix.co.uk
F 01226-780417 Ibstock Brick
T 01530-261999 Wm C Reade
Charnwood Forest Brick F 01530-257457 T 01728-452982
T 01509-503203 www.ibstock.co.uk F 01728-454957
F 01509-507566 wcreade. aldeburgh@dial.pipex.com
sales@charnwoodforest.com Kingscourt Brick
www.charnwoodforest.com T +353 (0)42-9667317
F +353 (0)42-9667206

Brick buildings made film stars

ew architects, dead or alive, get to be the subject of an Oscar
F nominated film. That the legendary Louis Kahn (1901-1974)
has achieved this honour is as much to do with Kahns
complex, multi-faceted character and heroic style of
architecture as it is to a sons yearning for a father he never knew.
My Architect (certificate PG), directed by Nathaniel Kahn, was
released in August this year. Aside from the emphasis on Kahns
personal life, the film includes many of the architects greatest works,
such as the Salk Institute, California, the Capital project in Dhaka,
Bangladesh and his 1963 Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India.
The latter, pictured right, with its enormous arcades built mainly of
locally produced bricks, affirms Kahns affinity for massiveness and
monumentality. His use of basic geometric shapes aimed to impart a
timeless beauty and order that he felt was generally lacking in modern
architecture.
The buildings in the film also affirm Kahns affinity with brick as a
material of construction. Kahn famously instructed his architectural
students to listen to bricks and ask them what they wanted to be, an
intriguing way of ramming home the importance of knowing the
nature and capabilities of materials.
My Architect has completed its UK general release cycle but may
Edifice

still be screened at selected cinemas nationwide. From January 2005

it will be available in video and DVD format. For further information go
to www.tartanvideo.com Louis Khans Institute of Management is a magnificent, imposing structure

The contents of this publication are intended for general guidance only and any person intending to use these contents for the purpose of design, construction or repair of brickwork or any related project should first
consult a professional adviser. The Brick Development Association, its servants, and any persons who contributed to or who are in any way connected with this publication accept no liability arising from negligence or
otherwise howsoever caused for any injury or damage to any person or property or as a result of any use or reliance on any method, product, instruction, idea or other contents of this publication.

16 BRICK BULLETIN