03/27: Memory of Brick

A year ago, while designing an archive for digital materials, I thought about building materials and their respective forms of memory. Some metals rust, and there are many examples of architects exploiting corten steel or copper patinas to let a building age in dramatic fashion.Concrete ages in a decidedly less elegant manner (although Snohetta did a beautiful job with the Karmoy Fishing Museum). I am a fan of brick’s ability to remember, and how often people ignore this fact and fill in windows and doors as if they were never there. But the brick knows. And it tells. It also leaves hints as to what used to be, a perfect section imprinted on its neighbor. All that remains is the ghost of building past.