Shaped bricks
Any ceramic bricks that do not correspond to common rectangular formats are called shaped bricks. On historic buildings, for example, they were used as bricks for window reveals, cornice bricks and arched bricks with the corresponding corner stones. It is not unusual to find more than a dozen different shaped brick types on historical brick façades.
For the renovation of façades of
listed buildings we cover the entire historical
spectrum of ceramic shaped bricks.
Craftsmanship
In the course of its history, the art of building has produced an infinite variety of shaped bricks, which often take on functional and decorative tasks at the same time. From simple wall copings to nose bricks (coved cornice bricks) to more complex mouldings, we manufacture everything according to the specifications of the original façade.
An important prerequisite for the conformity of the newly manufactured moulded bricks with the historic building fabric is the development of building-specific mass and glaze formulas in our own laboratory.
In addition, we use traditional, artisanal processes, as this is the only way to ultimately guarantee an authentic appearance in the historic masonry.
Variants
Hand-moulded bricks
Hand-moulded bricks are characterised by their robustness and the characteristic rustic surface. The resulting brickwork bond thus gives a lively, varied overall picture.
All bricks of rectangular formats, simple shaped bricks and flat bricks can be produced using the hand-moulding process.
Extruded bricks
From the 19th century onwards, extruded bricks were increasingly used in façades, as this new production process enabled both a quantitative and qualitative increase in brick products.
The typical even surface and the laying with narrow joints corresponded to the taste of the time and characterise the appearance of numerous historical buildings of this period.
Historic shaped bricks
Shaped bricks usually fulfill special functions, for example as cornice bricks, for walls, window reveals or brickwork arches. Round bar edges, nose stones or fillet stones have been used since redbrick Gothic as a design element in brick façades to form plinths, embrasures, friezes and pilasters. From simple wall coverings to more complex brick mouldings, we manufacture everything according to the specifications of the original.
For the production of a shaped brick, clay is usually beaten into a specially made plaster mould and after moulding smoothed and fired. Depending on the requirements, shaped bricks can also be produced mechanically as extruded bricks.
We do produce glazed shaped bricks to measure
To produce a shaped brick, clay is beaten into a specially made mould, fired after shaping, glazed and finally fired once again. The prerequisite for the achieved conformity of the newly manufactured shaped bricks with the historical building stock is the development of individual, object-related mass and glaze formulas in our laboratory.
The glaze colour to be developed depends on the base material and the previously used raw materials. Especially in the case of historical building materials, it is not always possible to exactly determine which raw materials these were. Due to the use of natural materials, fluctuations are the rule. Since chance also plays a significant role in ceramics time and again, a glaze specification must be achieved by approximation with many samples.
References
Neues Museum, Berlin
For the vaulted ceiling, we produced lightweight bricks in colours specially matched to the ones of the listed building.
House of Telekom, Berlin
The Telekom AG building in Berlin. Renovation year: 1998/1999. The entire façade decoration had been knocked off during the GDR era and covered with roughcast. All shaped bricks had to be reproduced.
Lohsepark, Hamburg
Inspired by the characteristic clinker architecture of Hamburg, the landscape architecture firm Vogt (Zurich/Berlin) designed walls made of transparent lattice bricks as part of the redevelopment of Lohsepark in 2014. GOLEM produced these individually developed shaped bricks.
Shaped bricks in stock
In our warehouse we have shaped bricks, terracottas, copies of building elements and sculptural objects. We offer them to everyone for sale or reproduction.
Contact
Phone (Central office)
+49 (0) 33608 89 910
E-Mail
werk@golem-baukeramik.de
Contact person
Sebastian Schröter
Address
GOLEM Kunst und Baukeramik GmbH
Alte Frankfurter Straße 2a
15236 Jacobsdorf, OT Sieversdorf
