Clay or Concrete, Solid or Hollow: Different Types of Bricks and Their Uses

The term brick is often used as a synonym for common clay solid blocks, but there’s more to it. Bricks are perhaps the most elementary of building materials and can be used to design modular, optimized, and most importantly, versatile buildings. This article explores the most popular types of bricks according to their use in construction.

Early civilizations first adopted the use of bricks as an alternative to construction in areas where there were no large trees to provide wood for shelter. The most common clay bricks today are made from soft mud and fired to make them durable. Ceramic bricks originated in the Middle East, South Asia, and Europe and have been the foundation for the construction of important structures such as the ancient Indus Valley cities in Pakistan. With the industrial revolution and Britain’s imperial century, clay bricks became the main building material, not only in the United Kingdom but all over the world.

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