Brick is, without a doubt, the building material most widely validated by the collective imagination; from children's fables to the most experimental narratives, many have drawn inspiration from the diverse meanings shaped by its distinctive character.
So begins "Arquitecturas Argentinas con Ladrillo" (Argentine Brick Architecture), a book edited by Bisman Ediciones and co-published by the Universidad de Morón and Grupo UNICER, with the participation of the Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Conceived as a compendium, it features a meticulous selection of recently built projects in Argentina sharing a clear common denominator: the study and use of brick as a fundamental building material to create architecture.
Through various graphic resources such as floor plans, photographs, and unprecedented construction details, the book functions as a true catalog of typologies, exploring the diversity and versatility of masonry applications in the region. The volume compiles history, technique, and contemporary reference projects, demonstrating how brick has inevitably established itself as a characteristic and defining material of Argentine and Latin American architecture.
The material evolution of brick as a building element has driven its progressive technological advancement, improving its physical and environmental performance. Unlike many other materials, the development and modernization of its properties has not led to a loss in expressive capacity; on the contrary, it has enhanced them while maintaining traditional identity and communicative values, finding new and diverse applications within the architectural field. Brick emerges here as a versatile resource, and the selected examples clearly reflect its wide range of uses: structural walls, partitions, enclosures, screens, envelopes, skins, roofs, vaults, domes, flooring, and even cases where it is used as the sole material, showcasing the material's great adaptability to the specific needs of each project.
A precise historical chapter opens the book, introducing the reader to the vast tradition of brickwork in Argentina. It examines the material from a national perspective, highlighting its versatility and adaptability to the different stylistic explorations of each era.
Narrating the transition from hidden brick to exposed brick, from brick understood as a purely utilitarian material to its complete display, the book briefly reviews the history of construction in Argentina, identifying key moments that played a fundamental role in expanding its use and its subsequent production and diversification. In doing so, it briefly examines several utilitarian buildings constructed in the country that mark the origins of this technique, such as docks, power plants, factories, and warehouses, where the use of brick began to establish a language of its own. Later, railway architecture, with its small suburban stations and residential facilities for personnel, played a crucial role in using the material in its exposed form. Subsequently, industrialized manufacturing and the introduction of hollow bricks and ceramic blocks drove the widespread adoption of this technology in self-built housing in lower-middle-class suburban areas. This later transitioned to picturesque single-family homes in Buenos Aires' residential suburbs and summer destinations for the upper classes along the Atlantic coast and in the hills of Córdoba.
Concluding with a series of texts contributed by UNICER, the Universidad de Morón, and the Universidad Católica de Córdoba, the book emphasizes the need for an active role by institutions and universities to foster perspectives that connect material and thought. Various essays, research projects, and exercises from the architectural curricula of these faculties are explored in this section, seeking to redefine the contemporary relationship between students and physical materials. Collaborative physical work, structural exploration, and experimental exercises will equip future professionals, bringing them closer to the reality of construction.
Below, discover some of the projects featured in the book "Arquitecturas Argentinas con Ladrillo" that have been published on our site.
The Weight of the Void / Miguel Ortego
San Bernardo Chapel / Nicolás Campodonico
OZ 3459 / estudiotrama + arqtipo
House in San Marino Funes Hills / Mariel Suárez
Experimental Brick Pavilion / Estudio Botteri-Connell
You can explore the 38 projects featured in the book in detail by purchasing it through Bisman Ediciones.
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This article was written by Belén Maiztegui. The translation is powered by AI.
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