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Architectural terracotta
Architectural terracotta refers to a fired mixture of clay and water that can be used in a non-structural, semi-structural, or structural capacity on the exterior or interior of a building. Terracotta is an ancient building material that translates from Latin as "baked earth". Some architectural terracotta is stronger than stoneware. It can be unglazed, painted, slip glazed, or glazed.
Usually solid in earlier uses, in most cases from the 19th century onwards each piece of terracotta is composed of a hollow clay web enclosing a void space or cell. The cell can be installed in compression with mortar or hung with metal anchors; such cells are often partially backfilled with mortar.
Terracotta can be used together with brick, for ornamental areas; if the source of the clay is the same they can be made to harmonize, or if different to contrast. It is often a cladding over a different structural material.
Terracotta was made by the ancient Greeks, Babylonians, ancient Egyptians, Romans, Chinese, and the Indus River Valley and Native American cultures. It was used for roof tiles, medallions, statues, capitals and other small architectural details.
Indian terracotta manufacturers hand pressed, poured, and double-molded the clay mix. Plaster casts have been found in several ancient sites in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Similarities in motifs and manufacturing processes have caused scholars to note cross cultural pollination between the Hellenic and Indus River Valley sculptural terracotta traditions. Famous early examples include the Bhitargaon temple and the Jain temple in the Mahbubnagar district.
Chinese, Korean, and Japanese terracotta making traditions were focused on non-architectural uses such as statuary or cookware but various forms of terracotta tiles were popular roofing materials.
Greeks used terracotta for capitals, friezes, and other elements of their temples like at Olympia or Selenius. Domestically they used it for statuary and roof tiles. The Etruscans used terracotta for roof tiles, encased beams, and enclosed brick walls with it. The Roman terracotta innovation was the underfloor or hypocaust heating system that they used for their bath houses. Medieval European architecture did not expand terracotta use beyond the ancients. The manufacture of tile roofs diminished with low cost thatch roofing widely available. Southern German, Italian and Spanish city states kept the tradition alive.
Richard Holt and Thomas Ripley patented an artificial stone recipe in 1722. The business was fairly successful at making small architectural ornaments. Their company was taken over by George[dubious – discuss] and Eleanor Coade in 1769.[better source needed] [See Coade stone, See Eleanor Coade ] George died a year later, leaving the company to his wife and daughter, both named Eleanor Coade. The Coade ladies[dubious – discuss] popularized the grey mix of terracotta as an alternative to stone with the help of architects like Horace Walpole and Sir John Soane. Georgian architectural style was in vogue and demand for repetitive, classically inspired décor was very fashionable. The Victoria and Albert Museum (1867–1880) and the Natural History Museum of London (1879–1880) buildings ushered in an era of mass-produced architectural terracotta.
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Architectural terracotta AI simulator
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Architectural terracotta
Architectural terracotta refers to a fired mixture of clay and water that can be used in a non-structural, semi-structural, or structural capacity on the exterior or interior of a building. Terracotta is an ancient building material that translates from Latin as "baked earth". Some architectural terracotta is stronger than stoneware. It can be unglazed, painted, slip glazed, or glazed.
Usually solid in earlier uses, in most cases from the 19th century onwards each piece of terracotta is composed of a hollow clay web enclosing a void space or cell. The cell can be installed in compression with mortar or hung with metal anchors; such cells are often partially backfilled with mortar.
Terracotta can be used together with brick, for ornamental areas; if the source of the clay is the same they can be made to harmonize, or if different to contrast. It is often a cladding over a different structural material.
Terracotta was made by the ancient Greeks, Babylonians, ancient Egyptians, Romans, Chinese, and the Indus River Valley and Native American cultures. It was used for roof tiles, medallions, statues, capitals and other small architectural details.
Indian terracotta manufacturers hand pressed, poured, and double-molded the clay mix. Plaster casts have been found in several ancient sites in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Similarities in motifs and manufacturing processes have caused scholars to note cross cultural pollination between the Hellenic and Indus River Valley sculptural terracotta traditions. Famous early examples include the Bhitargaon temple and the Jain temple in the Mahbubnagar district.
Chinese, Korean, and Japanese terracotta making traditions were focused on non-architectural uses such as statuary or cookware but various forms of terracotta tiles were popular roofing materials.
Greeks used terracotta for capitals, friezes, and other elements of their temples like at Olympia or Selenius. Domestically they used it for statuary and roof tiles. The Etruscans used terracotta for roof tiles, encased beams, and enclosed brick walls with it. The Roman terracotta innovation was the underfloor or hypocaust heating system that they used for their bath houses. Medieval European architecture did not expand terracotta use beyond the ancients. The manufacture of tile roofs diminished with low cost thatch roofing widely available. Southern German, Italian and Spanish city states kept the tradition alive.
Richard Holt and Thomas Ripley patented an artificial stone recipe in 1722. The business was fairly successful at making small architectural ornaments. Their company was taken over by George[dubious – discuss] and Eleanor Coade in 1769.[better source needed] [See Coade stone, See Eleanor Coade ] George died a year later, leaving the company to his wife and daughter, both named Eleanor Coade. The Coade ladies[dubious – discuss] popularized the grey mix of terracotta as an alternative to stone with the help of architects like Horace Walpole and Sir John Soane. Georgian architectural style was in vogue and demand for repetitive, classically inspired décor was very fashionable. The Victoria and Albert Museum (1867–1880) and the Natural History Museum of London (1879–1880) buildings ushered in an era of mass-produced architectural terracotta.