I spent 2 months in the USA studying architectural terracotta, historical and contemporary uses in comparison with the UK. Please follow this link to read an online copy of my Report.

The report details my findings and experiences in meeting the manufacturers and professionals working with terracotta in New York, Chicago and San Francisco. Including a case study of the largest terracotta replacement on site at the moment in Chicago and details of site visits and major historic buildings.

Click on the title here to download:

Architectural Terracotta: An Exploration of Transatlantic Opportunity

If you have any questions or comments please contact me, I’ d love to know what you think. I’m looking forward to completing my dissertation for my Masters in Historic Environment Conservation which further examines the terracotta industry today. If you’re interested to receive a copy please send me a message.

Huge thanks to the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust for this incredible opportunity.

Keen to explore and to glimpse the difficulties of a town built on pleasure during the ‘off season’, off I ventured with my terracotta hitlist.

I found perhaps one of the most uplifting experiences I have had:

and perhaps one of the most depressing too:

Club Sanuk, formerly Princess Cinema, cream Hathernware terracotta

This dichotomy will perhaps be my lasting memory of Blackpool.

But don’t get sad, come back next week to see one of the gems of Lancashire, an an inside look at the thriving terracotta  manufacturer, Shaws of Darwen…

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Architectural Terracotta: An Exploration of Transatlantic Opportunity

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Click HERE for Report

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This album I rediscovered whilst looking for an image for my Fellowship reporting and have allowed myself a moment to recount the insprirational home I found, one September day amidst my travels in Sacramento.

I played contentedly with form and colour on a beautiful bright day. Sacramento is an interesting city, the capital of California, built on the gold rush and now full of grand civic buildings and some monolithic Brutalist architecture. I’ve noticed how cities use Brutalism for their law courts or prisons, which does not fail to underscore the severity of their purpose. I found these buildings enjoyably subtle in simple form and surface and the landscape design and planing around these buildings work in interesting ways.

some blue sky . a fresh breeze . clear thought .

dynamism . acceleration . stimulation. 

exaltation . simplicity . calm .

inspiration . with joy .

and beauty

It’s all around after all

I am reminded of the many towering 20, 40… 60 storey buildings  that  I’ve marvelled at over my Fellowship in the States. Skyscrapers which go to no less effort to addorn their soaring facades with wonder and characterful figures. With the help of an asset such as binoculars, however, I felt I was glimpsing a secret world. Its a strange feeling; exploring an otherwise private world, when stood on a large sidewalk surrounded by people and cars busying by.

I promised a colleague, who I enjoyed a coffee contemplating terracotta in Chicago with, a few images of the massive and mystical beasts that line the Natural History Museum and how they came to be:

These pictures give an idea of the scale of these giant terracotta figures.

These are the original Hathernware moulds created to press the figures when the Natural History Museum was built between 1860 and 1880. We learned as much as we could from the moulds themselves, as its quite a treat to be able to handle historic moulds, I certainly enjoyed pressing these monumental beasts and the picture of me  reaching right inside the mould as a fellow craftsman would have first done many a year ago is guaranteed to make me smile.

The mould for the head was made up of smaller pieces on the inside to create the detail and undercuts, this detailed mould was then encased within a larger mould to hold it all together. This is a good way of creating the strength required within a complex mould. Where possible two people would press the clay into the moulds, to try and get the huge moulds filled as quickly as possible, to prevent the clay first applied from drying out much before the last clay pressed. After several days we released the mould and, testiment to the clay used, found few signs of cracking even on such a large press.

Having looked more closly at the figures on site, it seems that the bodies of the animals are all one of two types (the male is larger and bulkier and the female slightly more slight and muscley) They are incredibly well sculpted with the tense muscle tone sculpted into the clay and the moulds. Alongside the lion and lioness there are other other strange and mythical animals. Perhaps pause when you’re next at South Kensington and see what you can pick out.

With hard hats donned, we made our way to the site office, where Mark introduced me to some of the team and explained the scope of the project. The 1905 drawings by the original terracotta manufacturers Northwestern Terracotta have survived and will not only save a lot of time and money in surveying work, but also provide a fantastic historically accurate point of reference for the project going forward. I met Brett Laureys, Project Architect with Wiss Janney Elster Associates, the  the next day who showed me the work being done to reinstate as accurately as possible the ground floor terracotta and huge shield motif above the doorway, using archival photography and the drawings. I look forward to seeing the finished article as it promises to be wonderfully recreated.

We spent some time studying the plans and Mark explained how the blocks on the building were numbered in sets and within each set every piece identified. Central Building has created a spreadsheet which then correlates each set and how many times it repeats throughout the tower, giving total numbers of each block.

20,000 blocks have been identified as requiring replacement. Some will be removed and re positioned, others can be pinned to secure them, rather than be removed. Each block has been assesed and identified on the drawing and this information collected in the spreadsheet. A large number are of course sound and repointing is all that is required.

Up we went to the base of the octagonal tower that extends from the bulk of the builidng. Mark explained how the building has been at risk for some years and new owners are now thankfully restoring and converting the building to residential apartments. Although the sales market is quite depressed in Chicago as it is across the US and in England, the rental market is buoyant, particualy for desirable apartments in central locations such as this. The loop trains rattle their way literally outside the the 2nd storey windows! ChicAgo.

All blocks that needed to be removed on this portion of the tower now have been, and good progress was being made in reinstating those marked for going back up. Gladding McBean have been receiving all relevant samples and are hard at work making the blocks for replacement. My tour of Gladding McBean still seemed a way off at this point but I relished the opportunity to the same job from site to manufacture. I would see the blocks coming through Gladding McBean when I got the the West Coast before the first ones were due to arrive on site early in October.

With relief that I wear sensible shoes, rather than dress to impress, to meetings, we scrambled out onto the scaffold to take a look at work in progress:

You can see, above, blocks being replaced. Steel that is exposed is cleaned and painted to protect it from corrosion. Moisture ingress is the main cause of deterioration to terracotta. Corroded steel can expand by up to 6 times its volume, this expansion jacking causes cracking and damage to the terracotta. Once cracks start to appear more moisture gets into the steel frame causing more corrosion and the problem worsens rapidly.

The horizonal plate that you can see above replaces the old roughly cut steel plate. The new are laser cut to fit the profile of the terracotta block of that particular section. Flashing is used to protect the steels wherever possible (green coverings in the left photo). The image below describes how terracotta is fixed into the building using pins and anchors, as such work to be started halfway up, without any material supporting it from below.

Some terracotta is being replaced by alternative material, GFRC (Glass Fibre Reinforced Plastic). I found this surprising considering the scale of the project and the amount of investment evident. Each one of these panels (below) replaces several terracotta blocks. So by having one large repeating  panel made in GFRC rather than terracotta, the cost saving is large. Mark assured me of the attention to detail in colour matching and the process by which this material had been signed off. I find it hard, however, to think of this as anything other than a false economy. I imagine on a job of this scale, however, there must be some compromises.

There are 2 colours of terracotta on the building – the majority is a dry sand cream coloured glaze with several different textured effects. The second is a dark iron glaze, with a speckle to it.

The darker finish is found in decoration around the windows and in the mullions. It is a clever metallic, matt glaze and will certainly fool a few people on the ground into believing its metallic disguise.

The tower is gothick styled with vines, small creatures and faces embellishing the ogee window forms and blockwork.

I am very grateful to both Mark Kuberski and Brett Laureys who talked me through the project. I’ve worked with terracotta for so long, and having seen so many important and exciting sites in Chicago and across the States, it really has crowned my experience to see such detail on site.

Stay tuned to see the replacement blocks being made at Gladding McBean’s facility, from clay pit to glazing, firing and packing.

The owners have six months from 1 November to:

• wash down and repaint the southern and western elevations;
• remove the breeze blocks from the window openings
• reinstate windows and glazing;
• repair and make good all the windows and doors including re-glazing as required;
• repaint all external timberwork including window frames, doorframes and soffits;
• re-render the eastern elevation of the property.

Read Brighton & Hove’s full press release here.

The severe lack of maintenance and neglect over a period of 18 years has led to the deterioration of the condition and appearance of Victorian Medina Bath House. The windows have long been broken and the glass panes replaced with breeze blocks. The temporary caretakers live in caravans on the site of the former men’s pool area and even the sturdy hoarding has become worn, unstable and decorated with graffiti.

At the moment there is beautifully painted pigeon on the south elevation. As the pigeons are the main residents at the moment and are free to enjoy the site in its current state, I think its rather in keeping.

Medina House’s prominent position right on the seafront, on Medina Esplanade, in one of the most affluent areas of Hove has no doubt help prompt action. Mike Weatherley MP has spoken out about the ‘perpetual state of disrepair’ of the building and supports change. This is the Cliftonville Conservation Area of Brighton & Hove and many of the surrounding buildings are protected by listed status. People flock to the promenade for beautiful sea views, to relax on the beach, to take in the air and enjoy homemade ice cream and coffees at the much loved Morocco’s next door.

The beach in front of Moroccos in the 1940s

I do hope the owners take this Section 215 enforcement seriously. If not the compulsory purchase order to follow will allow new owners to take guardian of this piece of Brighton’s history. I am particularly keen to see the special tile scheme in the former bath area looked after and preserved as a relic of Brighton & Hove’s history of salt water bathing and a legacy of Victorian Hove.

Here are some more photos of the strange and charming Medina House and its splendid Victorian architecture.

Other articles include:

The promise of a tomorrow for Medina Bath House

Medina House & Baths

Building Opinions article

An eyesore building will not be left to rot

The Conference was absorbing and thought provoking; exploring cultural shifts in export, tiles and terracotta from stoke and their journeys around the world with focused papers from Japan, Germany and Holland. I particularly enjoyed meeting in person some of the big names in the tile and terracotta world, as well as catching up with fellow comrades in terracotta. I look forward to continuing our discussions. I filmed the whole day and will be sharing some of what I captured.

It was a joy to catch the last day of the British Ceramics Biennial, around the corner in Stoke-on-Trent.

Exploring Spode was buzzing with visitors, coffee and cake and ceramics of all kinds. The mixture of contemporary studio ceramics, Fresh work from Central St Martins graduates and contributions from industry including examples of handmade bricks, cladding systems, clever ceramic filtration and tile printing, all made for a stimulating and vibrant exhibition.

The old Spode factory worked fabulously as a venue and shone as an example of well-worn industrial architecture. Clay, glaze, rust and mould left spattered on doors and walls, storage boxes tucked away in corners, abandoned work benches in the dark and bits of unexplained machinary and shelving all gave clues as to what the spaces were once used for. Whilst the ghosts of the processes were allowed to twist ones imagination to evoke a atmosphere of once thriving industry not without a hint of melancholy. The area around Neil Browswords installation of the remnants of clay production and a video honouring the legacy of Spode was particularly haunting. Opposite his installation, internal windows invited visitors to peer through the darkness into a whole area of untouched abandoned work space laying quiet, untouched and dusty.

Here’s the Director of the Biennale talking about Stoke’s blooming future in art and industry.

The European Ceramic Work Centre has a large area of exhibition space, showing the breadth of projects coming out of the research centre in the Netherlands. Cross-discipline residencies explore the technical an artistic posibilities of ceramics. Pushing the boundaries of perception of ceramics.

Its interesting to see such a successful public facing event in our industrial heartland and left me once again asking what is England’s contribution to ceramic research and innovation with a  clay material. I came across Universities and companies at the fore of material research in ceramics in the USA and feel that perhaps we have some work to do in catching up?

Nestled in between rows of crouched cottages, the scale and decoration of Medina Bath House stands proud and confident, unabashed by its pebbledash exterior and additions of thoughtful graffiti.

Although hard to image against the lazy modern apartment block architecture that jutted up in the 60s, the remaining corner of Medina Baths is curiously charming, despite its current state of neglect. The name Bath Court proudly inscribed on the flats is the only part of its design that lends a clue to its historic predecessor:

Medina Esplanade c.1910 www.regencysociety.org

With a little background and imagination the Hove baths come easily come to life…
Salt water was pumped a few yards under the prom, indeed, the mechanics and pipework may well still be extant underground. The bath house not only offered bathing facilities, but laundry services too, operating as Hove Bath & Laundry Co, in 1893. Bathing in those days was to get clean rather than for pleasure, as very few houses would have had running water, a trip to the local baths was regular and often a social occurrence. Hove Baths made good use of the water they were pumping and filtering and washed both the people of Hove and their clothes. This was both enterprising and usual. The opening hours of the baths followed the seasons and the baths closed when it got dark as there was no artificial lighting until electricity was installed in 1919.

Members of Hove Shivers club remembered to me how the water was a Medina Baths was very cold and how they would swim at King Alfreds because it was a bit warmer. Medina Baths were used for regular and very popular polo matches through to 1920s at least.

Mens' pool, c1911 (Middleton 1996)

In 1930s new swimming baths were built nearby and would have forced Medina Baths to close, but the Admiralty requisitioned the building as a navy base and the new baths became known as King Alfred’s rather than Hove Marina as previously intended. Medina Baths remained useful as a bath house as a result and stayed open for several more years.

More recently; people frequenting Morocco’s ice cream parlour and restaurant next door, or taking a simple stroll along the seafront; may remember the diamond merchants who occupied the site throughout the 50s and 60s. Monncikendams diamond workshops opened onto the street and Mr Barham remembers how, as a child, his eyes bulged in marvel as he was hurried past the open workshop doors as he caught a glimpse of the wonderful diamond workers world. If I ever do have a look under the floor boards for that Victorian pipework, I’ll be certain to keep an eye out for any twinkling in the shadows!

The ceramic faience scheme that ran throughout the Baths and is still spectacular today:

This week Medina Baths has fought off demolition and the proposed construction a 9 storey tower. The planning appeal has finally been DISMISSED with a well balanced report from the Planning Inspectorate. The inspector noted the local list description and the building’s historical significance and its key place in the development of Hove as a seaside resort. Despite 18 years of neglect the inspector noted the surprisingly good condition of the building and encouraged the owner to invest in maintenance and modernisation of the building in quashing unnecessary demolition of an important building.

So the door has been openied for re-use and adaptation of this Medina Bath House…

I hope I may be of help in the conservation of the tile scheme and other important elements of the Baths some day. And look forward to the next chapter of this well loved little building…