“Even a brick wants to be something.” - Louis Kahn.
Drawing parallels with the quote, the studio investigates - Does Brick always want to be of standard shapes and sizes? Does clay, fly ash or cement owns brick? Is there a room for qualitative enhancement? The studio unit will find answers to these questions by continuing a conversation amongst students and working rigorously seeking innovative solutions. It promotes cogent arguments being made to push the boundaries of standardization and instill a seed for customization.
Since, brick had been one of the most fundamental and popular building materials from the times of antiquity, it invites further research. To conduct this research, students will be first taught the standard brick construction including various production processes in and around Ahmedabad. The studio unit will then motivate students to generate new bricks either by reshaping or by the use of different materials. Design challenge in either case is to enhance quality of the building block which is additional to the existing obligation that it fulfils as a construction material. Simultaneously, students will be encouraged to test the performance that can suit its various applications. Eventually the proposed building block will be appropriating for the global scale.
