B R I C K

JANUARY 2004 BULLETIN

MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Rick Mather’s stunning Sloane Robinson building

BREAKING EUROPEAN BEST OF HELP AT OPINION

NEWS TOUR BRITISH HAND Wayne Sheppard
of Ibstock Brick on
The lastest A round-up of Shortlisted entries Everything you
changes to brick some of the finest for the 2003 Brick need to know a premature
standards brick buildings on Awards about European obituary
the Continent regulations
Mather wins best building prize
RICK MATHER Architects’ Sloane Robinson
Building at Keble College, Oxford (above), took
the Building of the Year accolade at the 2003
BDA Brick Awards. It also won the Best Public
Building award.
The judges were impressed by the
sculptural feel of the building and its creative
use of stack-bonded soldier courses as an
ordering principle. Slim, handmade,
Roman-style bricks give the building a
contemporary aesthetic that makes a striking
response to the polychromatic brick of the
neighbouring Butterfield building.
This is the second building Mather has
designed for Keble College, and it uses similar
language to his 1995 Arco building.
The awards were presented at a gala
ceremony held at Le Meridien Grosvenor
House in London on 4 November. The
complete list of award winners is as follows:
■ Best Single House: Tan-y-Coed House,
Wrexham. Architect: Cosmo Lloyd.
■ Best Private Housing Development: Fulham
Island, Fulham, London. The architect was
CZWG Architects.
■ Best Public Housing Development: Silitoe
Court, Raleigh Park, Nottingham. Architect:
Maber Associates.
■ Volume Housebuilding Award: David
McLean Homes.
■ Best Commercial Building: Manser
Antiques, Shrewsbury. Architect: Baart
Harries Newall.
■ Best Public Building: Sloane Robinson
Building, Keble College, Oxford. Architect:
Rick Mather Architects.
■ Best Refurbishment Project: New Schools,
Eton College, Eton. Architect:
Corrigan + Soundy + Kilaiditi.
■ Best Landscape Project: The Living Room,
Dunbar Drive, Bolton. Artist: Isabella Lockett.
■ Best Export Award: St Catherine’s Foyer &
Sports Centre, Dublin. Architect: Brady &
Mallalieu.
■ Best Structural Use of Brick: Thornden
Hall, Eastleigh, Hants. Architect: Hampshire
County Council. Structural engineer:
Michael Dudfield Associates.
■ Prefabrication Award: The Grove,
Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. Architect:
Fitzroy Robinson.
■ Specialist Brickwork Contractor of the Year:
Marlborough Brickwork, Leeds.
■ Best Craftsmanship Award: 20-32 Baker
Street, London W1. Architects: Norman &
Dawbarn/Erith & Terry
■ Sustainability Award: Denville Hall Phase 2,
Northwood, Middx. Architect: Acanthus
Lawrence & Wrightson
■ Special Award for Decorative Brickwork:
Greenwich Millennium Village, London.
Executive architect: EPR Architects
■ BDA Building of the Year 2003: Sloane
Robinson Building, Oxford. Architect: Rick
Mather Architects.
The BDA acknowledges the kind sponsorship
of Baggeridge Brick, CPI EuroMix, RDL
Distribution and Readymix. For details of the
2004 Brick Awards, call 01344-885651.

New European brick standards explained

“ALL CHANGE but No Change”
is the slogan adopted by the
Brick Development Association
to spearhead its information
campaign on European
standards harmonization
launched last October. The aim
is to alert the construction
industry to the introduction of
standards such as BS EN 771-1,
which will replace BS 3921.
But it is business as usual, for
as Peter Watt, the BDA’s senior
structural engineer remarked:
“It is important to remember
that UK clay bricks will remain
UK clay bricks, it is just the
mechanism by which they are
tested and classified that will be
different. The European
standard will affect the way that
bricks are technically defined in
terms of their performance, but
it will not change the
manufactured product or
restrict the uses to which clay
brick can be put.”
Peter Watt’s in-depth article
on harmonization is on page 14
of this issue. For a free booklet,
call the BDA on 01344-885651
or email brick@brick.org.uk.

2 ● BRICK BULLETIN
First ever world history
B R I C K
of brick is published BULLETIN

JAMES CAMPBELL and Will Pryce’s This edition of Brick

sumptuous account of the world’s most
magnificent brick edifices has been Bulletin features the
published by Thames & Hudson. Brick. A building that won the
World History contains more than 320
pages and 600 colour illustrations, Brick Awards 2003, and
detailing some of the most outstanding provides an opportunity
brick edifices ever built, from 5000 BC to
the present day. for a closer examination of its design
It has been hailed as the first ever and construction.
comprehensive study of brick. It combines
historical account and technical surveys As an architect, I am interested in the
with a cultural appreciation of brick’s role in history. way in which the designers have
The book is a result of a research project part-funded by the Brick
Development Association. It took Campbell and Pryce across Europe, exploited the potential of brick by
Central Asia, the Far East and North America. But UK projects were making simple yet telling alterations to
not overlooked. Included in the book are the Hanwell Viaduct,
Battersea Power Station and Carlton House Terrace. the standard pattern of bond and
Photographs from the book formed the basis of an exhibition held course. Thoughtful design and skillful
at the end of October at The Prince’s Foundation in London. The
venue was also used for a special BDA evening, during which James execution are, as ever, a cost-effective
Campbell outlined the history behind some of the buildings. way to make buildings special.
Brick. A World History is available at the special price of £30.00,
including postage & packaging, in the UK only. Please telephone This point is made forcibly in Brick. A
01252-541602 quoting Brick Bulletin offer with credit card details, or World History, recently published by
send a cheque, payable to Thames & Hudson Ltd, to Sales, 181a High
Holborn, London WC1V 7QX quoting the same reference. The offer is Thames & Hudson. James Campbell, the
subject to availability and ends in May. author and Will Pryce, the photographer
traveled the world to compile a stunning
News in brief documentary of the story of brick from
5,000BC to the present day. This essay
Classic work on British brickwork reissued
Back by popular demand is Nathaniel Lloyd’s classic work A History in cultural and architectural history is
of English Brickwork, digitally enhanced and recently reprinted by
also a technical survey of brickmaking
The Antique Collectors’ Club. Originally published in 1925, the
weighty tome has established itself as the standard work on English and bricklaying. The versatility and
bricks and brickwork. Further details on 01394-389974. A History of
importance of bricks and brickwork is
English Brickwork is available for £35.00.
underlined by the illustrations of great
Ceramic testing guide is published feats of engineering alongside
The second volume in Whittles Publishing’s Testing in Construction
series is due out early this year. Testing of Ceramics in Construction cathedrals, country houses, temples and
is a guide to the main ceramic elements used in construction and
mosques.
includes tests on clay bricks, pavers, wall, floor and roof tiles.
Techniques for dealing with the performance and condition of BDA Members provided James and
existing structures are also included. The book is available for
Will with sponsorship for the
£55.00. Call 0870-2402 182 for details.
photography and travel. The book has
Black country history met with critical acclaim and the
The men, women and processes that turned Black Country fire clay
into usable refractories are honoured in John Cooksey’s Brickyards sponsors are delighted to be associated
of the Black Country (£9.99 + postage, 124 pages, paperback). The
with such a successful project.
book is rich in historical detail, amply illustrated and offers a
fascinating insight into an extremely durable material. Call Michael Driver, director,
01384-836122 for further details.
Brick Development Association
Correction
In the June 2003 edition of Brick Bulletin, we omitted the
editor George Demetri co-ordinating editor Andy Pearson
picture caption on page 14. The photograph was of the City designer Joe Presedo production David Rogers
University Business School, London EC1, designed by Bennetts reproduction London Pre-press printed by St Ives plc
Associates. ISSN 0307-9325

BRICK BULLETIN ● 3
 IN PICTURES

BRICK
A LA MODE
How architects across Europe are
making the most of brick’s
versatility and style

Enrico Cano

A
 B A
National Sports
Centre, Locarno,
Switzerland
Architect Mario Botta has
used protruding headers to
provide a striking texture
for this building. The 10
elliptical steel trusses
are expressed on the
elevation.
School sports facility,
B Berlin
This gymnasium by
Architekten BDA on the
Sredzkistrasse in Berlin is
housed in the green
fibre-cement cube. The
brick section contains
clubrooms and a
caretaker’s apartment.
High School at Mollet
C
Martin Schuppenhauer
del Valles, near
Barcelona.
A brick wall perforated by a
series of small openings
illuminates a main corridor
at this Catalan high school.
C
Liuis Casals
E
Chris Hill
The architects are
Jaume Bach and Gabriel
Mora.
New Bar Library,
D Belfast
Robinson & McIlwaine’s
£15m library comprises
offices arranged around a
four-storey atrium and has
contrasting planes of blue
brick and Portland stone on
the exterior. It was
completed last April.
Blok 36 Ijburg,
E Amsterdam.
This is a CAD image of a
proposed mixed-use
scheme in the Netherlands.
It comprises apartments
and single family houses,
both social and owner
occupied. It also contains
shops and a public sports
centre. The design is by the
Amsterdam-based practice
Architectenbureau Marlies
Rohmer.
BRICK BULLETIN ● 5
KEITH COLLIE

HERE’S TO YOU,
SLOANE ROBINSON
Rick Mather’s latest addition to 750 years of architecture at Oxford
University had to hold its own against one of the most famous brick
buildings in Britain … George Demetri explains how it was done

6 ● BRICK BULLETIN

Ground-floor plan of the building
F OR RICK MATHER ARCHITECTS, THE CHOICE
of brick as the cladding material for the
award-winning Sloane Robinson building was
a foregone conclusion. For one thing, it
shares a quadrangle at Keble College Oxford with two
other distinctive brick structures. The first is Mather’s
Arco building, completed in 1995; the second is
architect William Butterfield’s 1883 Victorian
masterpiece – the first brick-built college at Oxford.
The two architects exploited brick in different ways.
Butterfield was one of the earliest and keenest
exponents of polychromatic brickwork. But where he
used different coloured bricks to create pattern,
banding and diapering of the surface to bring together
its various masses, Mather has relied on a single,
distinctive brick type and colour to achieve the same
unifying effect. No complex patterning, just slim,
highly textured, stack-bonded Roman-style bricks that
draw together the complicated geometry of the
architecture.
The £6m Sloane Robinson building sits on a steeply
sloping site in Keble’s Newman Quad. The building is
parallel to Blackhall Road, which forms one side of the
quadrangle. The Arco and Butterfield buildings form
the other two sides.
Viewed from the garden, the new building has the air
of a Roman temple, thanks to its monumental character
and its arcade of double-storey, fair-faced concrete
columns. Yet this near symmetrical and somewhat
stern facade is counterbalanced by the irregularity of
the building’s ends which rise to pinnacles as they
change direction, their angle determined by the
adjacent Arco building.
The building’s 250-seat, flexible, multipurpose
auditorium can be entered from the garden terrace. It
has a dining hall and recital room at the higher street
level, and above are six seminar rooms expressed on
the garden elevation by sharp, prismatic oriel
windows, like jewels encrusted in brickwork. These
have been designed to maximise views of the
Butterfield and Arco buildings. The top two floors
house 20 study bedrooms with simple rectangular
openings located under two asymmetrical,
zinc-covered barrel vault roofs.
At the heart of the building is a hybrid frame, part
concrete and part steel. Insitu concrete was used for
the lower floors in order to satisfy aesthetic, thermal
and acoustic criteria. For the two upper floors, steel
was used to facilitate the construction of the
zinc-covered barrel vaults.
External walls comprise partially filled brick-and-block
cavity construction where the brickwork is laid
predominantly in stack-bonded soldier courses. This
attractive and contemporary way of laying bricks is
enhanced by the slimness of the brick used –
240 40 102 mm. This has the additional advantage
of allowing the building’s curved ends to be formed
without the faceting that a wider brick would have
entailed. The bricks are handmoulded, thereby
imparting a wonderfully rich texture to the building.
The street elevation has a less stately, more
directional feel. This is partly achieved by the
arrangement of the windows, but also by the use of
brick panels laid in stretcher bond – an appeal
increased significantly by the long, thin bricks. The
facade is enlivened by horizontal bands of linear
fenestration at upper-ground and third-floor levels. To
complete the picture, a vertical glass slit cuts

BRICK BULLETIN ● 7
Above: A sloping glass
dramatically through the top and sides of the
canopy over the main staircase end, leaving a seemingly precarious
entrance four-storey brickwork panel on the end of the building.
Above right: The profiled The necessary stiffening was provided by a slender
steel staircase in the concrete frame concealed within the blockwork of the
south-west stair tower inner skin.
At every storey, a steel angle bolted back to the
concrete structure supports the brickwork and allows
the insertion of a horizontal movement joint.
Intermediate brickwork between steel angles is secured
to the inner block leaf using steel wall ties at 450 mm
centres horizontally and vertically. Vertical movement
joints, which in this case are positioned every 12 m,
have been discreetly “lost” in the stack bonded
brickwork, with no cutting of bricks necessary.
Steel reinforcement is a crucial part of stack bonding,
as there is no real bond between the bricks themselves.
Where window openings are large enough to
compromise the integrity of the masonry working as a
panel, structural engineer Dewhurst MacFarlane
specified steel flats to tie the blockwork inner leaf to
the floor slabs. This whole philosophy kept the use of
bed joint reinforcement to a minimum. (For a detailed
look at stack bonding, see “How To Achieve Perfect
Stack Bonding” on page 14 of Brick Bulletin, which was
8 ● BRICK BULLETIN
published on 24 June last year.)
The architects resorted to “special” bricks wherever
needed, such as where soldier bricks were required to
“turn” corners. Although such a detail is easily
achieved, it can leave an isolated and vulnerable
single brick on the corner. To avoid this, large
140 × 140 × 240 mm corner “blocks” were made,
incorporating false joints; these 10 mm recesses were
subsequently pointed-up to give the impression of a
mortar joint. Other specials used included pistol bricks
for use on angles and lintels, and special plinth bricks
extending around the building at sill levels to impart
attractive shadow lines and articulate the brickwork.
Choosing the right brick colour was important for
planning consent. The colour used had to harmonise
with Butterfield’s range of sandy-to-purple colours in
the building opposite. However, achieving a
sympathetic shade required the blending of three
different types of brick at the works. Furthermore,
the bricklayers were advised by the brick maker
to vary the work on site by taking bricks from three
different packs. Although none of this proved
particularly difficult, it entailed making the specials
in three different brick colours and interspersing
them into the work. The resulting uniformity of
 Section through first-floor window bay

Reinforced
concrete
floor slab
supported on Stainless-steel
steel edge beam support angle

Stack-bonded
soldier bricks

Pistol brick

Composite insulated panel

Proprietary cavity closer

Window

Rigid insulation

Sill brick

Wall tie

The Sloane Robinson colour seen throughout the brickwork is testament
building with William to the success of this method.
Butterfield’s 1883 Low-emissivity double-glazed units are used
masterpiece in the throughout the building, whether for windows or for
background the double-storey glazing to the garden elevation. The
main entrance, located adjacent to the auditorium on
the garden side, has an imposing toughened glass
canopy that slopes toward the building. Clamping of
the glass support fins to the concrete frame is
concealed behind an aluminium-faced backing plate set
into the brickwork. This also conceals a gutter that
runs into a internal rain water pipe.
The building is also noteworthy from a sustainability
point of view. It is the first building in the UK with a
geothermal system, which uses a heat exchanger in the
basement to connect plastic pipes buried in the piles
with similar pipes cast into the concrete slabs. These
pipes, which are filled with antifreeze, transfer ground
heat from the 20 m deep piles to the concrete slabs. In
summer, the system is reversed, and the piles act as
heat sinks. This means that the building’s concrete
soffits – apart from those in students’ bedrooms – act
as radiators in winter, and become chilled ceilings in
summer. And there is another advantage: the
electricity requirement of the system is about one-third
less than that used by conventional air-based systems.
Since its completion in October 2002, the Sloane
Robinson building has formed a stylish addition to the
Oxford skyline. Taking the top category in the 2003
Brick Awards was a major achievement, but there is
more to come. Commenting recently on the building,
Keble College bursar Roger Boden said that Rick
Mather Architects had given the college “amazing
spaces – huge shafts of light, glorious views, intriguing
corridors, boldness and restraint”. He also paid tribute
to the invention and generosity of spirit that pervaded
the entire building. Such laudatory remarks are always
welcome, but when coming from a client, they are
music to an architect’s ears. For as everybody knows,
there’s nothing like a satisfied customer.
Project team
Client Keble College, University of Oxford
Architect Rick Mather Architects
QS Stockings & Clarke
Main contractor Benfield & Loxley
Structural engineer Dewhurst MacFarlane & Partners
Environmental engineers Atelier 10
Brickwork contractor Benfield & Loxley
Acoustic consultant Sandy Brown Associates

BRICK BULLETIN ● 9
 A B

C D

E F

IN PICTURES

BEST OF THE REST

A round-up of the buildings that just missed out in the Brick Awards
A Burton Waters in Lincoln
was a runner-up for the
private housing award
B The Quad House,
Twickenham. Runner up,
Best single house
C City University Business
School in London. Runner
up for best public building
D Hostel, St Paul’s Place,
Bournemouth. Runner up,
best public housing award
E Fairview Homes,
runner up best volume
housebuilder. The image
shows Gallion’s Point in
Woolwich, east London
F No 4 Brindlyplace,
Birmingham. Runner up
best commercial building
G Myrton Bridge,
Boroughdale, runner up for
best refurbishment prize
H Private garden, Hitchen,
Hertfordshire. Runner up,
best landscape
I Orchard Edge,
Sittingbourne, Kent. Runner
up for sustainability award
J 20-32 Baker Street
offices, London. Runner up,
best stuctural use of brick
K College House, Shiplake,
Oxfordshire. Runner up,
prefabrication award
L Paternoster Square by
Irvine Whitlock, runner up
for bricklayer of the year
M The Makkah Mosque in
Leeds. Runner up for the
craftsmanship award
N Yasu Library in the
Siga Prefecture, Japan.
Runner up in best export
award
G H

I J

K L

M N

BRICK BULLETIN ● 5
 TECHNICAL
A QUESTION OF
Peter Watt explains how to make sense of the European Union’s new
EW CLAY BRICK AND PAVER PRODUCT
N standards are being introduced to the UK. The
standards are all “Euronorms” and will provide
common European Union wide standards for
bricks and pavers to support the development of a
single European market in construction products. In the
UK they are being issued as British Standards’ BS ENs.
New clay brick product standard
BS EN 771: Part 1: 2003 is the new European clay
masonry units product specification, or standard. It
will eventually supersede BS 3921: 1985, the existing
British Standard product specification for clay brick.
BS EN 771-1 is an integrated harmonised standard that
covers all types of European clay masonry unit and is
also fully supported by European test methods. The
standard is based on performance rather than being
prescriptive, so it expands the opportunities for clay
brick development and use. A harmonised European
standard is one against which CE-marking can be
applied to conforming products.
The method of defining brick product characteristics,
such as compressive strength, freeze–thaw resistance,
soluble salts content and size tolerance, remains within
BS EN 771-1, but often in revised format with different
defining brick characteristics and properties to those
designations given in BS 3921. Traders, specifiers and
users of clay brick will need to familiarise themselves
with these revised descriptions.
To assist in familiarisation, a UK “National Annex” is
being published with BS EN 771-1 that provides a link
between the new standard and BS 3921. The National
Annex gives useful continuity information.
As part of this process of change, BS 6649: 1985, the
specification for modular dimension clay bricks, is also
being superseded by BS EN 771-1.
Other brick product standards
Product specifications provide an integrated link with
related standards and user codes of practice. For this
reason linked British Standards, which are not European
produced, are being amended to technically align with
BS EN 771-1. BS 4729 for brick “specials” has been fully
revised and a new 2004 edition is to be published.
BS 4729: 2004 is fully compatible for use with
BS EN 771-1.
A completely new British Standards Institution
Publicly Available Specification, PAS 70: 2003, has been
published to support the use of BS EN 771-1 for clay
brick. This gives relevant site user guidance for clay
brickwork appearance reference panels and also for on-
12 ● BRICK BULLETIN
site verification of clay brick size and tolerance
determination. PAS 70 is again compatible with
BS EN 771-1.
As a priority issue BS 5628 for the use of masonry is
being amended to align with European product
standards. This process will not be completed until late
2004 or 2005 because of the nature of the changes
that have to be made to the BS 5628 suite.
New clay paver product standard
A new European clay paver specification with test
methods has also been recently published. This is
BS EN 1344: 2002 and it is replacing BS 6677: Part 1:
1986. BS EN 1344 is a performance based harmonised
standard covering clay paver units and includes
associated test methods. Calcium silicate pavers are no
longer covered by this European standard. BS EN 1344
is published with a UK National Annex to give continuity
guidance in the changeover from the old to the new
standard.
Timescale to change
BS EN 771-1: 2003, BS 4729: 2004 and PAS 70: 2003
are all being published as a “package” of compatible
and workable clay brick product standards. They can be
used for specification commencing from their
publication date.
The withdrawal of BS 3921: 1985, BS 6649: 1985 and
BS 4729: 1990 will not be immediate and a period of
user transition (a co-existence period) from old to new
is occurring. The existing standards, such as BS 3921,
are not expected to be withdrawn until late in 2004 or
even until 2005. During this transition, either BS 3921
(linked to its related standards’ package), or BS EN 771-1
(linked to its related standards’ package) can be used at
the brick maker’s discretion to describe product
characteristics. Traders and users need to be aware as
to what clay brick standard (and therefore which
related standards’ package) is being quoted by
individual brick manufacturers. This
situation arises mainly as a result of EU-determined
transition rules.
For clay pavers a similar transitional timescale for
BS EN 1344: 2002 and BS 6677: Part 1 exists, although
the timescale is not the same as that for clay brick.
BS 6677: Part 1 has been notified to be withdrawn on
31 December 2003 with BS EN 1344 continuing in use
thereafter.
After respective withdrawal of BS 3921 and BS 6677:
Part 1, existing brick and paver products already in the
market place and conforming to these standards can 왘
STANDARDS
technical standards for clay bricks and pavers
SUMMARY OF STANARDS’ PACKAGES AND TIMETABLE FOR
BS EN CLAY BRICK AND PAVER IMPLEMENTATION IN THE UK
Existing clay brick BS
standards
BS 3921: 1985
British Standard Specification for Clay
Bricks.
BS 6649: 1985
British Standard Specification for Clay &
Calcium Silicate Modular Bricks.
BS 4729: 1990 British Standard
Specification for Dimensions of Bricks of
Special Shapes and Sizes (Supports
BS 3921 and BS 6649).
BS 3921: 1985 Appendix F for
Appearance.
BS 6677: Part 1: 1986 Clay and Calcium
Silicate Pavers for Flexible Pavements –
Part 1 Specification for Pavers.
New clay brick BS EN+BS
standards
BS EN 771-1: 2003 – Specification for Clay
Masonry Units (with UK National Foreword
and Annex).
Published 2003.
BS 4729: 2004 British Standard Specification
for Recommendations for Dimensions of
Bricks (Including Those of Special Shape)
(Supports BS EN 771-1).
To be published early 2004.
BSI PAS 70: 2003 HD Clay Bricks – Guide to
Appearance and Site Measured Dimensions
and Tolerance
New BSI publication to support BS EN 771-1
and related Standards.
Published 2003.
BS EN 1344: 2002 Clay Pavers-Requirements
and Test Methods (with UK National Foreword
and Annex).
Calcium Silicate pavers no longer covered by
Standard.
Published 2002.
Transition/timetable
commentary
BS 3921, BS 6649 and BS EN 771-1 to run
concurrently until the end of 2004 or 2005.
BS 3921 and BS 6649 to be withdrawn at
the end of 2004 or during 2005.
CE marking to BS EN 771-1, possibly during
2004.
Voluntary marking (e.g. BSI Kite Mark) to BS
EN 771-1 possible from about time of BS EN
publication date.
BS 4729: 1990 and BS 4729: 2004 to run
concurrently until end of 2004 or 2005.
BS 4729: 1990 to be withdrawn at about
same time as BS 3921 is withdrawn.
CE marking and voluntary marking as for
BS EN 771-1.
PAS 70 applies to BS EN 771-1: 2003
and related product specifications
(ie special shape and size clay bricks to
BS 4729: 2004).
BS 6677: Part 1 and BS EN 1344 ran
concurrently until end December 2003. BS
6677: Part 1 withdrawn at the end of
December 2003.
CE marking to BS EN 1344 possible from
January 2003.
Voluntary marking (e.g. BSI Kite Mark) to
BS EN 1344 possible from April 2003.
BRICK BULLETIN ● 13
 CLAY BRICK DURABILITY DESIGNATIONS –
BS EN 771-1 VERSUS BS 3921
BS 3921: 1985
Durability designation Freeze/thaw
Resistance
FL F2
FN F2
ML F1
MN F1
OL F0
ON F0
왘 continue to be traded until stocks are depleted. Such
products will be considered fit-for-purpose by trading
standards authorities.
Product marking
As a part of the EU single market in construction
products, CE-marking is being introduced for products
made to an appropriate European harmonised technical
specification. CE-marking is intended to denote
conformity with the relevant European standard.
In the UK, Ireland, Sweden and Finland the
governments of these countries have decided not to
make CE-marking a legal requirement when product
is traded to a European standard (e.g. BS EN 771-1
and BS EN 1344). Where CE-marking is optionally
used, it is usually the manufacturers’ responsibility to
apply it, although intermediary traders can in some
cases apply the mark for re-branding purposes.
Declarations need to accompany the mark for pertinent
product properties and characteristics to the relevant
European standard.
In the UK, the use of CE-marking is likely to have a
gradual uptake that will not be uniform across
construction product sectors, nor necessarily across all
manufacturers in any one product sector. The non-use
of the mark does not affect a product’s fitness-for-
purpose for UK domestic use. The new European clay
brick and paver standards can be met, with or without
the associated use of the CE-mark. If the manufacturer
opts to use the CE-mark, the appropriate declarations
have to be given.
CE-marking of clay brick products to BS EN 771-1 will
probably become possible this year. For clay pavers to
BS EN 1344 it has been possible for manufacturers to
CE-mark product from January 2003.
Other voluntary manufacturer applied marks, such as
BSI Kite Mark, may also continue to be used at the
option of the individual clay products’ manufacturer.
Kite Mark schemes to support product traded to
BS EN 771-1 and to BS EN 1344 are now available to
manufacturers.
Implications for change
Clay brick and paver products made and traded within
the UK are not expected to change as a result of
European standardisation implementation. Such
14 ● BRICK BULLETIN
BS EN 771-1: 2003
Active soluble Combined
salts content durability
designation
S2 F2/S2
S1 F2/S1
S2 F1/S2
S1 F1/S1
S2 F0/S2
S1 F0/S1
products will remain broadly the same as now, but with
greater scope for future development potential.
What will change are the product specification
standards themselves with the accompanying
changes to defining properties and characteristics.
Amendments to related standards and to user codes
of practice will take these technical changes into
account providing a broadly similar pattern of
product use to the existing situation. The change
should therefore be seen as an “evolutionary” and not
a “revolutionary” process for clay construction
products intended for use in masonry and paving.
Related masonry product standards
These changes are not restricted to clay bricks.
Other masonry product types, the specifications for
mortars for plastering and masonry construction,
and standards for ancillary components have also
had European standards published. In totality this
forms a package of European masonry product
standards.
The BS EN 998- series of standards covers mortars,
while the BS EN 845- series covers ancillary
components. Ancillary components are items such
as wall ties, straps, lintels and prefabricated bed
joint reinforcement intended for masonry
construction.
Guidance
BDA will be able to offer assistance with regard to these
changes. A primary source of information is the BDA
web site at www.brick.org.uk. This will be updated to
reflect changes. Other information will also be
developed.
References to new standards
BS EN 771: 2003 Specification for masonry units –
Part: 1 Clay masonry units.
BS 4729: 2004 Specification for recommendations
for dimensions of bricks (including those of special
shape).
BSI PAS 70: 2003 HD clay bricks – Guide to
appearance and site measured dimensions and
tolerance.
BS EN 1344: 2002 Clay pavers – Requirements and
test methods.

A model of modernity
The fact that brick has been around for 12,000 years shows that it
will be here for a long time to come. As Wayne Sheppard explains
HERE ARE THOSE, OVER THE PAST DECADE,
T who may have plotted brick’s demise. I
contend that, much as Mark Twain commented
on the publishing of his obituary in the New
York Times in 1897, “reports of its death have been
greatly exaggerated”. What we have done is to
revitalise the process that keeps us all in the industry
moving forward. Yes, we probably were inward looking
and relied over much on traditional practices. But we
have responded in several important ways – not least
through the Brick Development Association.
Award winning
The Brick Awards are a fine example. To quote the
introduction to the 2003 Awards: “They reveal brick’s
ability to satisfy aesthetic, structural, thermal, acoustic,
landscape, craft, prefabrication and sustainability
criteria.” Ten years ago, brick was not perceived as a
material which could satisfy all these requirements. The
introduction goes on to describe the shortlisted entries
in terms of “extraordinary textural and sculptural
effects” … “fun” … “humour” and “versatility”. How can
brick be moribund when architects continue to achieve
these effects?
Skill full
Another moan of the doom and gloom brigade has
been about the so-called shortage of skilled bricklayers
required to fulfil the demands of housebuilding. This is
supposed to lead to a dumbing down of design, and
increase the use of cement, steel and glass.
The brick industry has countered this in many ways.
First, the statistics actually demonstrate that there are
plenty of skilled bricklayers, it’s just that some of them
may be “hidden” at any given time. Con Lenan, chief
executive of the Association of Brickwork Contractors,
recently commented: “Brickies are often multiskilled
workers who get absorbed into other parts of the
construction or related industries when work is scarce.”
COMMENT
Given the availability of suitably paid contracts, they
will come back.
Second, the brick industry has developed techniques
to make certain skilled tasks quicker and easier. This
includes a system to create a wall at any angle required,
and bricks which can achieve a convincing “tile
hanging” appearance. Building designers and specifiers
have, therefore, more scope to create eye-catching
details and features than ever before.
Third, industry bodies such as the Association of
Brickwork Contractors and the Better Brickwork
Alliance are devising initiatives to improve and promote
the industry’s image to the 13-17 year old group. The
BBA’s “Get a Life with Brick” campaign, for example,
aims to alert 13-17 year olds to the attraction, scope and
potential of a bricklaying career.
Green brick
Brick is one of the most sustainable building materials,
thanks in part to its longevity, which spreads the energy
used in manufacture over many decades. But we must
not dwell for too long on this benefit as there are many
other aspects of sustainability which must be
considered such as the restoration and management of
brick quarry sites. These are frequently located in rural
areas and may also be used for landfill. We need to
work to nationally applied standards for the
management and restoration of these facilities.
Upbeat
These are just a few of the measures adopted by the
brick industry in order to meet 21st century standards.
Other methods, such as Egan and new building
techniques, could also be cited. The fact remains that
the brick industry has moved forward together to
ensure that brick is a great product that will remain
both relevant and at the forefront of the construction
industry for centuries to come.
Wayne Sheppard is managing director of Ibstock Brick
BRICK BULLETIN ● 15
DIRECTORY The Brick Development Association’s member companies

Baggeridge Brick Coleford Brick & Tile Marshalls Clay Products Tarmac Wilnecote Brick
T 01902-880555 T 01594-822160 T 01422 306000 T 01827-280050
F 01902-880432 F 01594-826655 F 0113 220 3555 F 01827-281161
enquiries@baggeridge.co.uk sales@colefordbrick.co.uk www.marshalls.co.uk elaine@wilnecotebrick.co.uk
www.baggeridge.co.uk www.wilnecotebrick.co.uk
Dunton Brothers Michelmersh Brick & Tile
Blockleys Brick T 01494-772111 T 01794 368506 Tyrone Brick
T 01952-251933 F 01494-791255 F 01794 368845 T 02887-723421
F 01952-265370 sales@dunton.com sales@michelmersh.co.uk F 02887-727193
sales@blockleys.com www.michelmersh.com www.michelmersh.com www.tyrone-brick.com
www.michelmersh.com
The York Handmade
Bovingdon Brickworks Freshfield Lane Normanton Brick Co Brick Co
T 01442-833176 Brickworks T 01924 892142/01924 895863 T 01347-838881
F 01442-834539 T 01825-790350 F 01924 223455 F 01347-838885
info@bovingdonbrickworks.co.uk F 01825-790779 sales@yorkhandmade.co.uk
www.bovingdonbrickworks.co.uk sales@flb.uk.com Northcot Brick www.yorkhandmade.co.uk
www.flb.uk.com T 01386 700551
F 01386 700852
Broadmoor Brickworks info@northcotbrick.co.uk
The Brick Development
T 01594-822255 Hammill Brick www.northcotbrick.co.uk Association
F 01594-826782 T 01304-617613 T 01344-885651
davidnevitt@broadmoor-brickworks.co.uk F 01304-611036 Ormonde Brick F 01344-890129
T +353 (0)56 41323 brick@brick.org.uk
Hanson Building F +353 (0)56 41314 www.brick.org.uk
Bulmer Brick & Tile Co Products
T 01787-269232 T 08705-258258 Phoenix Brick Company
F 01787-269040 F 01234-762040 T 01246 233223
bbt@bulmerbrickandtile.co.uk info@hansonbp.com F 01246 230777
www.hansonbrick.com www.bricksfromphoenix.co.uk
Carlton Brick enquries@bricksfromphoenix.co.uk
T 01226-711521 Ibstock Brick
F 01226-780417 T 01530-261999 Wm C Reade
F 01530-257457 T 01728 452982
Charnwood Forest Brick www.ibstock.co.uk F 01728 454957
T 01509-503203 wcreade. aldeburgh@dial.pipex.com
Fax: 01509-507566 Kingscourt Brick
sales@charnwoodforest.com
www.michelmersh.com
T +353 (0)42-9667317
F +353 (0)42-9667206

Bukhara’s brick-built Ark

F YOU’VE EVER TRAVELLED THE
I Silk Road, the caravan route that
connected China and Europe, you
may have come across this
magnificent brick monument in Uzbekistan. It
is known as the Ark, and it has served for
more than a thousand years as the fortified
citadel of the Emirs of Bukhara, who ruled
their subjects with an iron fist. Numerous
British spies were executed outside its walls
during the late 19th century, when Bukhara
was an independent emirate and the subject
of intense Anglo-Russian rivalry.
It was destroyed in 1220 but subsequently
rebuilt, only to be ravaged by fire in the
1920s. That it still stands is testimony to the
enduring qualities of brick. This picture was
taken by Will Pryce, and it is one of more than
600 in Brick. A World History, written by
James Campbell and published by
Thames & Hudson. It has 320 pages of
extraordinary photography and diagrams,
covering 5000 BC to the present. See page
three for more details. The Ark citadel in Bukhara: An eloquent testimony to the staying power of the humble brick

The contents of this publication are intended for general guidance only and any person intending to use these contents for the purpose of design, construction or repair of brickwork or any related project should first
consult a professional adviser. The Brick Development Association, its servants, and any persons who contributed to or who are in any way connected with this publication accept no liability arising from negligence or
otherwise howsoever caused for any injury or damage to any person or property or as a result of any use or reliance on any method, product, instruction, idea or other contents of this publication.

16 ● BRICK BULLETIN