Paul Herman on thu 5 dec 02
Hello kiln builders,
At the risk of being accused of flogging this one too much, I'm sending
this short treatise on brick and arches.
The great architect, Louis I. Kahn, spoke on the importance of the
realization in form, which means nature.
To quote:
"You realize that something has a certain nature. when you think of the
making of a school, the school has a certain nature. In making it you
must consult the laws of nature, and the consultation and approval of
nature are absolutely necessary. . . .If you think of brick, for
instance, and you consult the orders, you consider the nature of brick.
This is a natural thing. You say to brick, "What do you want, brick?"
And the brick says to you, "I like an arch." And you say to brick,
"Look, I want one too, but arches are expensive and I can use a concrete
lintel over you, over an opening." And then you say, "What do you think
of that, brick?" Brick says, "I like an arch."
It's important, you see, that you honor the material that you use. You
don't bandy it around as though to say, "Well, we have a lot of material
around. We can do it one way. We can do it another way." It's not true.
You can only do it if you honor the brick and glorify the brick instead
of just shortchanging it or giving it an inferior job to do, where it
loses its character.
Good Firings,
Paul Herman
Great Basin Pottery
423-725 Scott Road
Doyle, California 96109 US
potter@psln.com
iandol on fri 6 dec 02
Dear Paul Herman,
Understanding the basic qualities of fired clay, and for that matter, =
rock, helps with this choice of the arch rather than the slab. Fired =
clay, be it manufactured as a brick, or natural as a sheet of slate or =
quartzite, develops its strength in Compression and its weakness in =
Tension. The arch transmits the load through compression to a neutral =
foundation. Though we may misuse our materials their character does not =
change. That is the secret of our failure. So often we ignore the =
obvious
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis
Cesar Augusto Montilla Jelambi on fri 6 dec 02
Thank you Paul for this words. I have been for years working with adobe
bricks. The "dream" house I began and still is being built has all roofs
made in adobe arch. My experience have confirmed all that you refer except
that it is not the expensive I onced believed. A boy of 17th with a little
help was able to conform a considerable part of the roofs.
Thank to you again
César
>From: Paul Herman
>Reply-To: No title defined
>To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
>Subject: brick/arches
>Date: Thu, 5 Dec 2002 08:27:59 -0800
>
>Hello kiln builders,
>
>At the risk of being accused of flogging this one too much, I'm sending
>this short treatise on brick and arches.
>
>The great architect, Louis I. Kahn, spoke on the importance of the
>realization in form, which means nature.
>To quote:
>
>"You realize that something has a certain nature. when you think of the
>making of a school, the school has a certain nature. In making it you
>must consult the laws of nature, and the consultation and approval of
>nature are absolutely necessary. . . .If you think of brick, for
>instance, and you consult the orders, you consider the nature of brick.
>This is a natural thing. You say to brick, "What do you want, brick?"
>And the brick says to you, "I like an arch." And you say to brick,
>"Look, I want one too, but arches are expensive and I can use a concrete
>lintel over you, over an opening." And then you say, "What do you think
>of that, brick?" Brick says, "I like an arch."
>It's important, you see, that you honor the material that you use. You
>don't bandy it around as though to say, "Well, we have a lot of material
>around. We can do it one way. We can do it another way." It's not true.
>You can only do it if you honor the brick and glorify the brick instead
>of just shortchanging it or giving it an inferior job to do, where it
>loses its character.
>
>Good Firings,
>
>Paul Herman
>Great Basin Pottery
>423-725 Scott Road
>Doyle, California 96109 US
>potter@psln.com
>
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Cesar Augusto Montilla Jelambi on sun 8 dec 02
Yes Paul, I live in Venezuela and this dream is still going on. We have made
from 15 to 20 thousands adobes using the earth of the place. This has been a
very hard project but very satisfying. There is much still to do. I suppose
I´ll be all my life dedicated to it. It is a kind of living house or... a
big useful pot.
Any of you in a future will be welcome.
César
>From: "Paul Herman"
>To: villaestrellaserena@HOTMAIL.COM
>Subject: brick/arches
>Date: Fri, 06 Dec 2002 07:35:43 -0800
>
>Hello Cesar,
>
>You are most welcome.
>
>I have always liked arches. Where do you live? Probably too far away,
>but I would love to see your dream house someday.
>
>best wishes,
>
>Paul Herman
>Great Basin Pottery
>423-725 Scott Road
>Doyle, California 96109 US
>potter@psln.com
_________________________________________________________________
Únete al mayor servicio mundial de correo electrónico:
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