Bricking It: innovative applications of man’s most trusted material

• In the classic children’s story, three little pigs build houses to hide from a hungry wolf. The hungry wolf huffs and puffs and blows down the first little pig’s house of straw and the second little pig’s house of sticks, but the third little pig was too clever for him. The third little pig built his house out of bricks, which saved his bacon. The safety and robustness of brick remains the key to its enduring appeal, particularly for residential purposes.
• Bricks made from shaped mud dating back to 7500 BC have been found in the Tigris region of Mesopotamia and, since then, brick has helped define the built environment of many developed nations. While production methods may have changed, the capability of brick to offer reliable protection from the elements over a prolonged period has helped it retain its popularity in the building trade. ‘The main benefit of building in brickwork is longevity,’ explains Dr Ali Arasteh, Principal Structural Engineer at The Brick Development Association. ‘There is no other construction material that offers such long-lasting performance with minimal maintenance and ongoing costs.’