Brick is one of the most widely used materials in Colombia, making the architectural designs in its capital city, Bogotá, stand out worldwide. Due to the excellent quality of the clay found in some regions of the country, brick is used in all aspects of construction, from adobe floor slabs to exterior facades.
Relatively close to the capital are the iconic artisan brickyards that supply materials to the custom brick concrete buildings. Since it is so often used, this material seems that it will never become obsolete although new technological advancements and new ways of application are constantly being discovered. Below, we've compiled a list of eleven examples that utilize brick.
C79 House / Base taller
Official project excerpt: This project was defined as, "a tribute to the landscape" due to the natural context, materiality, colors, and textures used in this house. An earthy toned palette that mimics the nature of its surroundings, and a landscape that responds to the history, are just a few of the features of this home. It is located in a rural zone of La Ceja, Colombia, in the upper part of El Capiro hills, and is surrounded by vegetation close to the Capiro nature reserve, where the main water sources of the city originate.
La Carbonera / Yemail Arquitectura
This rural house is located an hour and a half from the capital city, Bogotá, near the Tominé dam. This region of the country is characterized by its cold and humid climate, one of the characteristics of rural dwellings in this region is patterned brick flooring and clay tiles.
Official project excerpt: There has been a constant interest in recognizing the values of the cultural landscape of the savanna, where Bogotá is located, through the use of traditional typologies, locally produced materials, and the search for bold implantations to the geography of the mountain range and its rainfall.
In the interior, the search for mixture, diversity, and miscegenation between ways of living, aesthetic values and technological ranges prevail. They lean towards the combination of the expressive resource of the textures and the apparent structure, to reflect the most traditional construction methods in visual contrast with industrial components.
Rural Social House / Estación Espacial Arquitectos
Official project excerpt: The house is constructed with two materials- wood for the roof structure, and traditional brick masonry typical of the Boyacá area for two exterior faces. When seasonal changes occur, the other faces can be constructed by other materials, including stone, wood, palms, or fabric, depending on the temperature of the site where the house is installed.
Mondragon House / Oficina Informal
Official project excerpt: This project consists of two units that support the home upon the uneven topography and is buried and covered with a green roof to interact with the landscape and not interfere with the visuals from the existing project.
The construction methods amplify the details of the first unit with the use of metal trusses, exposed brick finishes, and industrial construction systems.
Fusca House/ BAQUERIZO Arquitectos
Official project excerpt: This house was intentionally designed with very few local materials of low-maintenance that generate continuity, such as the large format Bogota brick for all facades, the bright-colored brushed earth marble terraces, the interior floors, and the carpentry in natural wood and blank walls as a neutral environment that the owners can customize.
In terms of sustainability strategies, the hollow brick walls with air chambers and the aluminum window frames have double thermal glass to ensure insulation and low energy consumption. During the day, the naturally well-lit house does not require the use of artificial LED lighting, and the heating that was installed works with solar panels of hot water on the roof of the garage. An additional reservoir of drinking water, tanks, and a treatment plant for rainwater were also installed.
Candelaria House / Llano Arquitectos
Candelaria House does not feature brick as its main materiality, as the void is the main character organized through the steel structure that allows it to feel light-weight. The brick on the walls organize the program, and together with the floor and roof tiles, frame the views of the landscape.
Earth House / Alfonso Arango
Official project excerpt: This project represents architecture that is born from stone and water; under the sky and for the sky; on the earth and of the earth.
The Earth House aims for a building clarity that responds to different design logic- an ochre concrete roof pitched towards the central patio that is supported by 16 columns with the same materiality that responds to a tectonic nature. On the other hand, the thickness and massive size of the hand-made adobe walls, responds to a stereotomic nature. On the inside, it is possible to clearly identify two different zones: an open one that contains the social areas such as kitchen, living room and dining room, and one more closed that aims to preserve the intimacy of the bedrooms.
La Serena House / Sebastián Gaviria Gómez
This house is located in Antioquia, at a height above 2300 meters above sea level, which frames its views and wraps its volumetry in the predominance of brick, mimicking the architectural impact with respect to the environment through its materiality.
Official project excerpt: In the design process, there was a profound reflection on the relations established with the site. The house is in a visually privileged place, and its mostly radiated form follows the strategy adopted to maximize the contemplative relationship with the landscape. The views framed by the openings inside the house change from space to space.
The Serena House is an architectural proposal that seeks its foundations in the understanding of the site to promote and enhance the possible relationships between the user and the territory.
Miravalle House / Colectivo 72
Official project excerpt: The Tectonic: Understanding that stereotomic architecture is one in which the force of gravity is transmitted in a continuous manner and where the constructive continuity is complete, we designed an architecture with a solid and stone enclosure. It is a proposal that seeks light and where its walls were perforated so that light and breezes enter it.
The materials: the facade partitions were designed in common brick masonry using all the pieces during the construction phase so that it could be built with materials from the region and incorporate unskilled labor. In turn, the haptic perception of brick suggests greater permanence in time and habitability from the tactile and spatial.
Casa en el Embalse San Rafael / De La Carrera Cavanzo
The house projects its contemplation towards the San Rafael dam, framing its views between a primarily concrete structure, the brick plays as a complement to the enclosure. Technique of supreme utility, specially to give it warmth in tune with the wood and contrasting with the cold concrete.
Official project excerpt: The project is a recreational house, its main function is contemplation. It is made up of two opposite glass planes, the first one dominates the distant and peaceful landscape of the dam and the second the immediate intimate landscape of the forest.
Casa Llano Grande / YEMAIL ARQUITECTURA
Official project excerpt: By belonging to a private condo, the materials and color ranges allowed are standardized. We used apparent concrete and annealed brick of three shades and other noble materials with dignified aging, which celebrates the great skill and tradition in the construction of domestic spaces in the Colombian highland region.
The composition of the facades is inspired by the modern tradition of the Bogotana school. The compression of the brick regarding the precision of the rigging and the careful compression of precast concrete eaves and roof trusses for protection from the weather. For this design, precedent projects were studied, including the building of Enrique Triana placed in the crossing of the Cr 7ª with Calle 24 or the Santamaría Building at the crossing on the Cra 9ª with Calle 76 by Obregón and Valenzuela, both in Bogotá.
