Construction History Vol 38, No 2, 2023
Construction History (Vol 38, No 2, 2023) has two particularly instructive papers on brick. The first, an illustrated 14-page paper by Linnéa Rollenhagen Tilly, discusses coated brick as an ersatz for limestone. Tilly compares architectural works in Toulouse and Stockholm as the culmination of over 20 years of Franco-Swedish research in the field of construction history, where parallels between the two cities in the use of coated brick had attracted the author’s attention. Given the infrequently encountered nature of this material, this paper may be of interest to construction historians, researchers and practitioners.
The second paper is a 25-page review of brickwork by Catherine Rangel Cobos, Felix Lasheras Marino and Javier Pinilla-Mellow. It considers running bond and face bond in the construction of solid-faced brickwork walls, using a historical evaluation of English and American technical texts published up to the 1930s. The authors discuss the acceptance of the word ‘bond’ (as the coordinated and concerted arrangement of bricks in each course), such that the overlapping and interlocking arrangement would work as a strong, single structural unit. This is assisted by some very helpful detailed drawings of how the bonds work.
The paper discusses face bond and running bond, the latter addressing bonding courses with square-faced bricks, bonding courses with cut-face bricks, bonding courses paired with face-brick headers and bonding courses with metal ties. From the heritage construction perspective, the article aims to assist in recognising an unfamiliar masonry solution and provides ways to allow for correct identification on site.
This article originally in the Institute of Historic Building Conservation’s (IHBC’s) Context 179, published in March 2024. It was written by Bob Kindred MBE.
--Institute of Historic Building Conservation
Related articles on Designing Buildings Conservation.
IHBC NewsBlog
Notre-Dame Cathedral of Paris reopening: 7-8 December
The reopening is in time for Christmas 2025.
Stirling Prize-winning Salford building to be demolished
The Centenary Building will be bulldozed as part of the wider £2.5bn Crescent regeneration project
Volunteers work to transform 100-year-old ‘hidden’ building into bothy
The building, named Druimnashallag, is located southeast of Oban.
The new ‘Arches for HERs’ Demo site, from the Getty Conservation Institute via HE
It shows how organisations responsible for historic environment records (HER) management can benefit from its powerful features.
ICOMOS-CIF 2024 Symposium celebrates 40th anniversary in Venice
It aims to critically review current practices and theories of conservation of built heritage around the world, and more.
HES establishes new national centre for retrofit of traditional buildings
HES plans to develop the centre follows £1m of funding from UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council.
High Court rejects oral appeal against tower block decision in historic Bloomsbury
The request was for a full Judicial Review hearing against Camden Council’s approval of a 74m-high tower block in Bloomsbury.
Mayor of London and Government announce bold plans to transform Oxford Street
Plans include turning the road into a traffic-free pedestrianised avenue, creating a beautiful public space.
Crystal Palace Subway, for 160th anniversary
The remarkable Grade II* listed Crystal Palace Subway in South London begins a new era following major restoration.
National Trust brings nature back to an area twice the size of Manchester in less than a decade
The National Trust has achieved its aim of creating or restoring 25,000 hectares of priority habitat on its land by 2025.