Masonry Materials Comprise 11 of 13 Wonders of the World!

Just out of curiosity, I thought I would find out what the Seven Wonders of the World were and of what materials they were made. Do you know? There are actually Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, of which only the Pyramids at Giza still exist, and a New Seven Wonders of the World, selected from sites and structures still in existence. Between the two lists, the Pyramids at Giza were on both so, two times seven only yields thirteen. Interestingly, of the thirteen structures, all were masonry except for two, the Colossus of Rhodes (from the original seven), which is reputed to have been Bronze, and Christ the Redeemer in Brazil (of the new seven) which is concrete. Of the ancient wonders, only one remains standing, the Pyramids at Giza. Except for the two non-masonry structures mentioned, all of the others are built of stone or brick. The two brick new wonders are the Great Wall of China and the Colosseum in Rome.

The Great Wall, except for the “guard houses” is primarily an elevated road to keep out the enemy and move troops and military supplies. Though occupant comfort was not a primary consideration, durability was. And, endure it has. Even through its degradation, many of the bricks remained. Now, having received its second, at least, restoration, the Great Wall continues to impress as much by virtue of the mere chutzpah that it took to construct it as by its technical accomplishment.

The Colosseum, though an open structure, was built to provide a modicum of human comfort while attending gladiatorial exhibitions. There has been much speculation about the canvas awnings at the upper level that provided shelter from the sun but, these no longer exist. When you are there today, the shade of the arched concourses and the coolness of the brick still provide considerable relief from the Italian sun.

Here are the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the New 7 Wonders of the World.

7 Wonders of the Ancient World
Pyramids at Giza
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Temple of Artemis
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
Colossus of Rhodes
Lighthouse at Alexandria

New 7 Wonders of the World
Pyramids at Giza
Machu Picchu
Chichen Itza
The Colosseum
Great Wall of China
Taj Mahal
Christ the Redeemer

There were many other contenders when the New list of Wonders of the World was created. Selected for features such as beauty and cultural value, it is notable that the majority of them are masonry structures.

15,500,000 brick … Sustainable … A Hundred Plus Year History!

The National Building Museum in Washington, DC (USA) is a showcase example of how the stack effect of masonry units can achieve natural ventilation and infiltration. Originally the Pension Building, the National Building Museum was designed to provide natural air-conditioning and light for its employees. Through the use of windows and air vents in the exterior walls of the building a ventilation system was created where hot air escaped through the skylights in the roof. The upward flow of air through the large central atrium would draw in fresh air through the exterior wall openings. The significance of brick construction cannot be overstated. The thermal lag created by the brick bearing walls helps to keep the interior of the building cool during the hot Washington, DC summers. And, the combination of the thermal lag and stack effect is how the National Building Museum maintained a comfortable interior environment prior to the installation of air conditioning.

These same concepts--Thermal Lag and Stack Effect are two of the six core concepts identified in the 2009 BrickStainable Design Competition entries. Check out all six design techniques utilizing brick to achieve sustainability goals.

Just this fall, Potomac Valley Brick (PVB) represented the brick and masonry industry by participating in the Festival of the Building Arts event hosted at the National Building Museum. PVB’s team partnered with United Masonry, a local mason contractor, to lead the bricklaying demonstration. This event was attended by thousands of visitors of all ages. A good time was had by all. Ellen Jacknain, coordinator of the Festival of the Building Arts noted, “As always, bricklaying was one of our most popular activities. Thank you so much to (Potomac Valley Brick) Dave and all of the workers for their expertise and patience in working with all the young visitors. The event’s general atmosphere of learning and fun was remarkable – due in large part to the enthusiasm of demonstrators like you.”

And we’ll be back at the National Building Museum in March. It will be the venue for the 2nd Annual BrickStainble Awards Celebration for the second year in a row. We can’t wait to return to this fabulous brick structure for another night of sustainability celebration!

What’s your favorite feature of the National Building Museum?

BrickStainable Presents at DC Convention, Summer 2010!

This past summer we were privileged enough to be invited back for the second time to present at the annual Washington, DC AIA hosted event, Design DC.

BrickStainable, in its 2nd year, decided an interactive panel discussion would be the best format to communicate our message and engage our supporters. The dynamic group included Potomac Valley Brick president, Alan Richardson, BrickStainable consultants, Peter Doo and Robert Busler (moderator), and a winner from BrickStainable 2009, Eric Haskins. (Eric joined us all the way from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Only a few short months after Alan flew to New Mexico to talk with Eric about his patent-pending idea, involving brick, of course! Check out our previous blog post on this topic.)

The 90 minute, 1.5 AIA/CEU & USGBC/ GBCI certified presentation was attended by a crowd of architects, students, and 2009 BrickStainable sponsors. We captured some of the highlights from this panel discussion for you. Enjoy the video.

Feel free to check out the pictures from Design DC on Flickr.

The BrickStainable Design Competition has the Whole Earth Thinking Brick!

With two and half months from the launch and under two months left to register, the 2nd Annual BrickStainable Design Competition has spread from Washington, DC across the globe! The interest from Vietnam, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, Iran and China is impressive, with over 80 other countries also tracking the most recent updates.

We have captured the attention from over 100 registrants at this point, primarily architects and students, and 10 of the 2009 returning teams are going to take a second stab at the BrickStainable challenge this year.

Registrants have the opportunity to win thousands of dollars in prizes and travel to Washington, DC. Register for the 2nd Annual BrickStainable Design Competition Today!

6 WEEKS UNTIL REGISTRATION CLOSES ON NOVEMBER 15th!