A Wall Made of Bricks Commendation
This project was awarded a Commendation For Creative Reclamation.
This wall is an artwork constructed of pieces from previous buildings on this site-from 16,000 years ago to today. We reused over 11,000 salvaged bricks from the demolition of an existing warehouse to create a 200-foot long street wall of reassembled bricks and stones.
Our team designed the wall and oversaw construction in collaboration with a group of master masons. The bricks were cleaned and scraped by hand on-site, counted and sorted by type (graffitied, stamped, face brick, back brick, ribbed, terracotta block, extruded, molded, Gneiss from Manhattan bedrock, bluestone from Pennsylvania’s quarries, and tumbled sandstone glacial till). The bricks were arranged into seven types of bond patterns and placed on a new concrete wall as a masonry veneer, illustrating history in an impressionistic tapestry.
The project is in Bushwick, Brooklyn, an industrial neighborhood known for its street art. We spoke to local artists, vandals, renegades, and benefactors. We hope that this construction honors the artist spirit of the place. The wall feels like it could have been there for a long time. Our role was a moment in time in a project that explores time and expresses itself as a part of continued history.
Photography: Amy Barkow | Barkow Photo