BRICK IN ARCHITECTURE

Since 1989, the Brick Industry Association has sponsored one of the country's most prestigious architectural award programs - the Brick in Architecture Awards. As the only national association to represent both manufacturers and distributors, BIA is the authority in the clay brick industry. As such, the Brick in Architecture Awards has become the nation's premiere architectural award featuring clay brick. Architectural and design firms from around the country can enter their best material to be judged by a jury of their peers. Any work of residential or non-residential architecture completed within the last five years, in which brick is the dominant building material, is eligible. Our competitions are conducted entirely online. For ease and convenience, this includes all aspects of registration and entry submission. Entrants are able to revise and enhance their submissions at any point up until the competition's closing date. A firm may submit multiple entries if desired, either within the same category or among multiple categories. We cordially invite you to submit your best work to the competition! As the largest and most prestigious juried awards program of its kind, the Brick in Architecture Awards showcase the best work in clay face and paving brick from architects across the country in the following categories:

Sustainability & Green Building Design

While most of us already know that brick is a beautiful, durable material that lasts for a very long time, many of us are amazed by how advanced the brick industry is with respect green building design and sustainability. For example, it takes almost 70% less energy to make brick today than it did in 1970. More than 80% of brick kilns are fired with natural gas, and many facilities use fuels from bio-based materials from other applications, such as methane gas and sawdust. Brick is the first masonry material that can be certified for environmental claims from a third party source. Brick is also made from naturally abundant materials, and is one of the very few materials allowed by the

building codes to be reused in new building applications. The materials linked below are furnished from the Brick Industry Association (BIA), which is the national trade association representing distributors and manufacturers of clay brick and suppliers of related products and services. The association has been the nationally recognized authority on clay brick construction since its founding in 1934, and it represents the industry in all model building code forums and national standards committees. BIA is involved in a broad range of activities and programs that appeal to architects, builders, and consumers, including Technical Notes on Brick Construction, Brick In Architecture, Brick In Home Building, national awards competitions, educational seminars, and other programs. BIA also advocates the industry's regulatory and legislative interests at the federal and state levels and educates municipal and planning officials about the benefits of brick at the local level. Along with the headquarters office that covers the entire country, BIA is comprised of regions that manage programs in the Heartland, Midwest/Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest.

Why Choose Brick

1. Because Genuine Clay Brick is Made from Natural Materials. Brick is made from clay and shale some of the most abundant, natural materials on earth and then fired through a kiln at up to 2000 degrees. The reason the brick turns into such a durable material is that the clay/shale unit actually goes through a vitrification process in the kiln, which enables the clay particles to fuse together. Many people may confuse clay brick with "brick" made from other materials. For example, concrete units rely on a cement paste to bond the materials together. Moreover, concrete units are inherently a grayish color, which means that users must inject color pigments before the setting process and use color sealant afterwards to have a color affect. Contrary to some people's perceptions, clay brick is actually significantly stronget than concrete brick as well. Another brick-like material, made from fly ash, claims to meet the same performance standards as clay brick. Since fly ash has no ASTM standards of its own, don't make the mistake of assuming that brick-resembling products automatically perform as well as authentic, clay brick. 2. Because Authentic, Brick Has Been Proven For Centuries. What began as a building essential in the Near East and India more than 5,000 years ago, wound its way through the ancient Egyptians,the Indus Valley civilization and the Romans and today has amazingly become the all-American building product throughout our countrys history. Just look at the structures and roadways in your community. Chances

are, at least some of them are built with brick. At the same time, bricks today are subject to much more stringent manufacturing processes than used in the past, which results in a more consistently performing end-product. While it is still possible to purchase hand-made brick, it is also possible to buy the type of architectural brick that meets extremely strict product specifications. 3. Because Genuine Clay Brick Offers Superior Protection Over Other Wall Cladding Materials: The story of the Three Little Pigs is just as true today as it was when it was first told to children long ago. Research confirms that genuine clay brick provides superior shelter in two major categories. Fire Protection: Since the primary ingredient in brick is clay which is fired to around 2000 F, it is a non-combustible material. As such, it is an excellent cladding choice to resist or confine fires. In fact, both the National Institute of Standards and Technology and BIA conducted separate fire tests that conclusively demonstrate that: Nothing outperforms good old-fashioned brick even a hollow thinner brick attains a one hour fire test rating while fiber cement siding does not. Todays advancedmaterials especially vinyl, get engulfed by flames within minutes. See for yourself right here. High Wind Protection: A study conducted in September, 2004 shows that homes built with brick offer dramatically more protection from wind-blown debris than homes built with vinyl or fiber-cement siding. Shelter from the Storm The study, conducted at the Wind Science and Engineering Research Center at Texas Tech University, demonstrated that amedium-sized wind-blown object, such as a 7.5-foot long 2 x 4, would penetrate homes built with vinyl or fiber-cement siding at a speed of 25 miles per hour (mph). By comparison, the same object would need to travel at a speed exceeding 80 mph in order to penetrate the wall of a brick home. The tests found that homes made with brick exceed the 34 mph impact resistance requirement for high velocity hurricane zones in the Florida building code. Brick also exceeds Floridas impact resistance requirements for essential facilities in hurricane areas. For these reasons, brick is such a strong and durable building material that your Insurance companies may even offer you a discount

on your home insurance costs. Superior Moisture Control: According to a nationally - renowned, independent building products research laboratory, brick veneer wall assemblies control moisture better than wall systems clad with other exterior materials. Therefore, brick veneer wall systems help minimize mold growth, wood rot and infestation by insects, and corrosion of fasteners embedded in wood better than other wall assemblies. To read the full report, go to 4. Because Brick looks better, for far longer and with less maintenance, than other building materials. Brick offers lasting value. It doesn't rot, dent, or need to be painted and it won't be eaten by termites and will never dent or tear. Its modular shape has resulted in beautiful structures in just about every architectural style, ranging from colonial to Victorian to post-modernist. It is one of the few materials that can actually look better with age, and brick absorbs noise - giving it an acoustic advantage over other materials (especially helpful in densely populated areas.) With thousands of color and shade options as well as wide variety of special shapes, the world's most beautiful and most practical homes are built with brick. Maybe this is why readers see ads for all-brick houses in the local real estate sections much more often than ads for all-vinyl or all-EIFS" neighborhoods.
5. Because Brick is Naturally Energy-Efficient. Brick is a building material that has exceptional "thermal mass properties. Thermal mass is the ability of a heavy, dense material to store heat and then slowly release it. For you, this means that during the summer months your brick home stays cool during the hottest part of the day. During the winter, brick walls store your home's heat and radiate it back to you. Vinyl, aluminum, wood or EIFS (artificial stucco) are all thin, light building materials that don't have good thermal mass properties. The superior thermal mass qualities of brick have been known for centuries. 6. Because Brick is the Most, Sustainable, Green Building Material Made. According to recent statistics, the impact of residential and commercial buildings account for: 2.8 lbs 65.2% of electricity consumption >36% of the countrys primary energy use 30% of total US greenhouse gas emissions 136 million tons of demolition and construction waste in the U.S. That equates approximately per person per day Given the significance buildings have on energy consumption, brick should be part of a comprehensive green strategy because todays brick includes: Inherently Natural Ingredients brick is predominantly made from clay and shale, which are among the most abundant materials available on earth. Countless Recycling Options such as salvaged brick, crushed brick for sub-base materials, chipped

brick for permanent landscaping mulch - all for the brick product itself. Minimal Waste because virtually all of the mined clay is used in the manufacturing process making the recycling and waste containment unequalled by any other building material. In fact, over 80% of our manufacturers re-use their own fired waste material or convert it into other products. And if you decide to pitch it, there is no special handling required because brick is simply earth so its inert. Brick is the first masonry material that can attain a Certificate of Environmental Claims from a third party source. The National Brick Research Center, an organization of the College of Engineering andcScience at Clemson University, has developed a standard to verify the amount of recycled content in brick, the utilization of renewable energy in the firing process, and the reduction in the amount of resources used to manufacture brick. Environmentally Friendly Manufacturing Processes. More than 80% of brick kilns are fired with natural gas, and numerous plants use fuels of bio-based materials from other industrial applications and waste products. Energy sources include methane gas from landfills and sawdust from furniture manufacturers. Low Embodied Energy to Manufacture Brick. With clay bricks renowned longevity, no additional energy will be needed to make a replacement brick for many decades if not centuries. The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) gives brick masonry a 100-year life, and many brick buildings older than a century are still in use today. In fact, brick is one of the few materials that building codes allow to be reused in a building application when it meets the ASTM standard for clay brick. Consequently, salvaged bricks are in high demand and represent a vibrant market.