Masonry Magazine August 1985 Page. 5
Restoration and Maintenance of Architectural Terra Cotta
Terra cotta is again taking on renewed importance as a building material. With the current architectural design trend moving to more color, texture and ornamentation, terra cotta is becoming the "in" building component on new projects as well as old.
About the Author
Michael T. Miske is president of Building Blocks Incorporated of Arlington Heights, Illinois. His company is a representative to the building community of architectural materials including architectural terra cotta. Ludowici-Celadon, which is one of the companies represented by Building Blocks, is a 100-year-old manufacturer of terra cotta, and is currently active in a number of restoration projects.
Mr. Miske has spent 19 years in the construction industry in various sales and marketing management positions. He formed Building Blocks in January, 1984. Educationally he has an engineering degree from the University of Wisconsin and MBA from the University of Colorado. He resides with his wife and two children in Inverness, Illinois.
Terra cotta in its broadest definition has been called the oldest building material known to history, other than wood. Nearly all the ancient civilizations- Etruscans, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Indians, Chinese, and Central American Indians left large numbers of works in burned clay. Figure 1 is a Chinese warrior made of terra cotta from the Ming Dynasty 200 B.C. As early as the 12th century, terra cotta was used widely as a building material in Europe, but the use of terra cotta in the United States was limited until the mid-19th century. The first American city to make extensive use of terra cotta was Chicago. With its fire resistant quality, the material was used widely in rebuilding the city after the 1871 fire. Terra cotta quickly became the most widely used building material in non-residential buildings.
The rise in popularity of architectural terra cotta was understandable. As a fired clay product, it could stand heat and be used as a cover for structural steel. Terra cotta as a material for ornamental work in buildings has advan-