The brickworks.
Building a guilt-free, green future As three little pigs learnt the hard way, straws and sticks won’t work if you want to build a sustainable, long-lasting house. What you need is bricks, and lots of them. We might not notice them a lot of the time, but bricks are everywhere, particularly in Denmark where brickworks used to be scattered throughout the countryside. Today, only a few survive. One of those original brickworks is Strøjer Tegl, which has been in the Strøjer family since the 1860s. The company may be old, but it is building bricks for the future. By Louise Older Steffensen | Photos: Strøjer Tegl
Clay has been used for pottery since the Neolithic Stone Age. It was one of the first ways that human beings sculpted nature to improve their world, and the material worked so well that 20,000-year-old clay pottery and sculptures are still around today. 9,000-yearold brick cities still partially stand in Turkey. In summary: bricks stand the test of time better than almost any other building material. “When you look at the 88 | Issue 132 | January 2020
long term, bricks are among the most sustainable materials we have,” says Kasper Damsø, CEO of Strøjer Tegl. “It does take some work and energy to make the bricks, but once they’re made, they’ll last.”
Never-ending possibilities Brick-burning technology came to clay-laden Denmark in the 13th century, and Danes took to brickwork like fish to
water. Red bricks in particular spread throughout the country, and many of Denmark’s most beautiful castles share a red brick façade and green iodised copper roofs. In the early 20th century, yellow brick houses popped up everywhere. “Bricks are very well suited for the northern European climate,” Damsø says. “They can keep the cold out, they can withstand the Danish wind and are strong enough to withstand any amount of snow, too. They also, importantly, add a nice, safe, warm expression to our houses and feel nice to the touch.” Bricks are as popular now as ever. “No one hates bricks,” Damsø continues. “Whereas a lot of other building materials may split opinions, there is something deeply familiar about bricks that I think a lot of people find reassuring.