The Sumerians in 3000 BC were the first people to build big buildings in West Asia, with towers called ziggurats, with a temple on top. Recent excavations in Southern Iran, assert they also built ziggurats around the same time. The Assyrians in 1000 BC, built palaces with limestone, with the city boundary walls in brick, and, Imperial Rome was constructed in brick. It was around 1847 that Gallant Dickenson introduced the new technique to California, though bricks were being used in Europe long before that.

Transforming from a local Austrian brick maker, Wienerberger since its inception in 1819 in Vienna, has forayed into bringing natural and healthy living spaces. With 263 plants in Europe and the US, they make hollow clay blocks Portherm - for wall systems. The horizontal and vertical perforated clay blocks are used for loading exterior and interior walls, also for non load bearing partition walls and weigh 60%-70% less than concrete blocks.  While it provides excellent thermal insulation, it is also fire resistant and environmentally friendly, with high compressive strength, and does not require RCC frames, which enables faster construction.

TERCA is an exclusive range in facing bricks. Used indoors or outdoors, they are highly weather resistant, zero on maintenance, assuring longevity, economy, and warmth, enhancing facades. In apricot, Tuscan red, light grey, yellow, pearl white and glacier blue, there’s a choice for the experimental builder, 188 mm long, 88 mm wide, and 63 mm high. This makes it an ideal combination with steel and glass, extending  timeless elegance. 

KORAMIC, the roofing tile, is all weather resistant, and economical, with 30 years longevity, lending distinctive characterististics, in Natural, Engobed and Glazed surfaces. They are easy to lay, and dexterous interspersing of colours of the tiles, gives the house a picture-book look.  With pavers for garden paths and driveways, that are textured like natural clay, the layout looks like artwork. They also have ArGeTon, façade plates with variable joints preventing lateral shifting, while the vertical joints prevent rattling in heavy rain and wind, insulating the interiors against weather changes, like a second skin.   

Wienerberger opened their office in Bangalore in January 2007, and many city architects use their products which are being imported from Belgium, France, Germany and Netherlands. On April 30, they forayed into the burgeoning market, with an initial investment of Rs 9 crore, setting up a plant in Kunigal, their first factory in Asia.
“We chose Bangalore as it is a growing metropolis, well situated, and the climate also contributed,” said Rudy Van Reeth, Managing Director - Technical. ‘We are always looking for further growth and opportunities in India, and I’m confident the team will perform at the highest level. “Clay is a green building material,” he continued, “And we welcome architects and builders who are keen on introducing new building material. And keeping in mind their valuable suggestions, we should commence commercial production by the end of 2008.”  Spread over 30 acres, they target an output of 100,000 tonnes per year in Phase I.

Ingo Hofmaier, Managing Director, Commercial, was with Cap Gemini Consulting in Austria as Senior Consultant, before joining Wienerberger in 2003. He opined, “The demand for eco-friendly building material is huge, a lot of research has been done to suit temperature changes. Clay is taken only from authorised clay pits, we re-develop the pits to enable them to evolve into natural habitats for endangered birds, plants and animals.”

Is there a revival of vernacular architecture in the city, I asked Krishnarao Jasim, Principal Architect  of Jasim Fountainhead. He said, “People have missed out a lot using concrete and glass. Part and parcel of the futuristic architecture in Bangalore is clay, most suitable to our weather, contributing to ecology, and aesthetics.”