Brick

by William Hall, Dan Cruickshank

Brick is a fresh, insightful and surprising look at one of the world’s most familiar and popular building materials. From the strange remains of the Ziggurat of Ur dating from 2100 BC, to formidable mills of the industrial revolution, the humble brick has been an architectural staple for centuries.

The world’s best architects have explored the qualities of brickwork. Alvar Aalto, Antoni Gaudi, Jørn Utzon, Frank Gehry, and Mies van der Rohe all built with the material, and bricks were integral to Frank Lloyd Wright’s vision for an American vernacular in his Prairie Houses.

Lesser‐known newcomers have created some equally striking and memorable structures, from the stunning Winery Gantenbein – built by robotic arm – to the audacious Kantana Institute, an unprecedented vision in a Thai rainforest.

Brick is a beautiful and informative visual exploration of a material that is often overlooked, and sometimes considered limiting, but is actually full of spectacular potential.

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction, Art, Reference, Urbanism

224 pages, Hardcover

First published March 30, 2015

About the author

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Reviews

[cristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

brick is so sexy, brick is so cool. brick is what they teach me in school.

[Holly]

Examining subjects such as “Form” and “Light,” [Hall] provides an annotated visual guide to brick buildings and detailing across the globe. Hall covers a diverse range of functions and aesthetics as well as time periods. His illustrated examples include everything from 11th-century temples to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie Houses. The pictures make Brick a handsome addition to one’s library, as well as an educational and inspiring read.

Read more at: http://blog.gessato.com/2015/02/08/bo...

[Nicola · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Brick' is a eye-opening exploration of great brick buildings, styles, uses and architecture around the world and over the centuries. You don't need to be a builder or architect to appreciate this Phaidon book; just someone who admires beauty and utility, and extraordinary skill. Recommended alongside Hall's other Phaidon book, 'Wood', which will blow your mind.

[Jordana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful Phaidon volume - great photographs and editorial.

[Am Y · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe I just don't like brick, or most of the works featured in this book were downright ugly *. And I mean appetite-suppressing, nausea-inducing ugly. A lot of the buildings looked incomplete or unfinished because you could still see the brick - it felt as though they needed a coat of paint or an extra layer or something over them to hide the brick. On the other hand, there were some structures that looked ok - and I noticed that these mostly tended to be the ancient or olden ones.

*I showed this book to 2 other people and they thought most of the buildings inside were "not nice" too.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book. Features a nice wide range of projects, geographically and chronologically, and the image selection & layout are beautifully done. Borrowed this from the Sasaki library at the beginning of the pandemic – figured I’d be home for a couple weeks and it’d be good to have some extra reading material – and now it’s time to return it a year later. Guess I need to find my own copy!

[Danil · Rating 4 out of 5]

В целом неплохая книга, не только для журнального столика. Однако удручают две вещи: 1) автор плавает в фактологии. Сказал про царевича Дмитрия Ивановича что его иногда называют Иваном Ивановичем. Это неправда и абсолютно ненужный фактоид в контексте угличских палат
2) автор тяготеет к архитектуре 20 века

[Rick Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely survey of brick architecture of all ages. Beautiful photography, but the writing was a little spare for my tastes. I was also missing a human element, both for scale of the buildings, and for the human interaction with the materials.

[Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty pictures of buildings with minimal text. My kinda book.

[Lauren (: · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful precedents of brick buildings.