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floors serve mainly as storage areas, but they also
house the drying room, workshops, administration of-
fices, and the staff canteen. The second part was a
practical exploration of the material clay and the co-
lourfulness of glazes. In addition, the overriding que-
stion of the way and appropriateness of the external
appearance of a company producing architectural ce-
ramics was posed and we analysed how a contempo-
rary company can position itself in this respect. On
the basis of over 300 samples, an approach to the ma-
terial clay and its colouring through glazing was un-
dertaken. The aim was to develop a product that re-
presented the company and its claim to quality and
craftsmanship. While researching Persian brick buil-
dings from the 12th century, we repeatedly observed a
vivid texture of the wall surfaces. This impression is
created above all in the effect from a distance. This
was fascinating because it is contrary to everything we
know from today's industrially produced bricks. The Differente, gebrannte Oberflächen • Differentiated fired surfaces Natürliche, einzigartige Farben • Natural, unique colours
characteristic of the wall surface that we describe as
vibrant and rough is created by the addition of various
geometric or floral ornaments. Their three-dimensio-
nal nature provides the basis of the structure. The
roughness became the starting point of the material
study, because it was precisely in dealing with the ob-
served roughness that we saw the way for ourselves Weitere Informationen unter
www.varicor.com
rather than in designing a specific or tangible shape,
as historical references do with their ornaments.

Everything organic burns
Vielfalt aus einem Guss.
Our approach breaks away from the classical orna-
ment, yet still adopts its main characteristics. For the
Mit überragender Mineralwerkstoff-Kompetenz ist VARICOR der anerkannte Spezialist für
study, we defined these properties in an abstract form
individuelle Formgebung im Nass- und Sanitär-Bereich. Unsere Expertise in der Gusstechnik
as elevation and, at the same time, we considered sorgt dafür, dass unsere Kunden bei VARICOR finden, was sie sich wünschen: Planungssicherheit
how elevated and recessed areas develop within a und ein optimales Kosten-Nutzen-Verhältnis bei grenzenloser Gestaltungsfreiheit in Form und Farbe;
shape and can also be translated into an economi- ob bei individuellen Einzelstücken, Kleinserien oder fugenlos verarbeiteten Reihenanlagen.
cally meaningful manufacturing process. Our ap-
proach was based on trust in the material properties
and the actual manufacturing process. At a firing tem-
perature of about 1200 degrees Celsius, which is ne-
cessary to achieve the weather resistance of bricks,
everything organic is burnt away to nothing. We took
advantage of this circumstance for the design of the
clay elements. Organic materials were incorporated
into the surface of the soft clay to shape the desired
structure. During the firing process, these substances
were burnt without residue and leave their imprint on
the surface. The bricks thus produced clearly come
from the same family, but are yet individual and uni-
que pieces. Through this random technique, the end
product still reminds of its former malleable consi-
stency – at the same time, the process of firing thus
becomes visible. Our attempts at colouring bricks
were also characterised by inconsistency. Described
in simple words, a coloured glaze is made up of a
basic glaze and added colour pigments. These pig-
ments are decisive for the colour after the firing pro-
cess. From a historical viewpoint, earths, metals, or
minerals have been used for this purpose. Conse-
quently, specially coloured glazes were often closely
related to the geological characteristics of their sur-
roundings and are typical of a cultural area.