Masonry Magazine November 2001 Page. 36
BUILDING
Creative
MASONRY
ARCHES
by Bryan Light
Director of Technical Services
Southern Brick Institute
As the Director of Technical Services for the Southern Brick Institute, I do quite a bit of traveling in the six most southeastern states of our country. With 35 years in the industry, much of this time as a mason contractor, I find myself building my dream house, in my mind, as I'm driving past small towns and open rural areas.
The beauty of masonry is that the variety of possibilities is constricted only by your imagination. Why there are upwards of 10,000 varieties of brick alone (see Photo 1)! When you consider the many types of stone (see Photos 2 & 3) as well as pre-cast materials available (see Photo 4), why should your home, office building or really any masonry structure, look like it was stamped out by someone that doesn't realize that many functional components can be designed to add beautiful form, character, and grace? One good example of what I'm trying to say is the Arch. Arches truly have a colorful past. One of the earliest known arches still exists in the ruins of ancient Babylonia, and it is approximately 3500 years old. It was built using kiln dried, cigar