The architecture of KENK > Brick
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BRICK
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KENK architects have a passion for using bricks. Brick is ideal for creating bold, robust and also refined and timeless buildings. Buildings that we so much like to make. This shared love was so beautifully expressed during a lecture on this ancient building material by one of our clients Mr. Han Michel:
“For a long time brick has been playing an essential role in Dutch building tradition. Admittedly, as a structural material, brick hardly plays a role, but the houses we build today have no less than ninety per cent a brick facade. Even in commercial building, brick scores 50% of all facades. The reason for this success can never be unravelled altogether. It is a combination of strong points and a mysterious x-factor. These strong point of brick are as follows: brick is cheap, it is durable and it ages beautifully. These are three selling points. ‘Cheap’, that we always found terribly important. To ‘Sustainable’ and ‘Ageing’ we start to pay more and more attention. But the real secret of brick is that it is never boring. That is the power brick. Brick "obeys the spirit of the city," creates "a certain monumentality with a robust appearance" and offers the opportunity for a building with "a finely detailed, sculptural skin". - Edited excerpt from a lecture on brick of Mr. Han Michel, former Director of housing association ‘The Key’: client of our projects 'De Lightfactory', 'Simon 3’ and 'IJburg blok 48'. |