Photo: fLORA-flex tile by U.S. participant Evan Douglis, rendering of proposed full-scale modular ceramic wall.

This month - May 24 - Brick: the exhibition will open at the Groot Handelsgebouw in Rotterdam during the manifestation Rotterdam 2007, City of Architecture.

Brick: the exhibition shows the experiments architects, designers and visual artists ventured into with the brick as a starting point. Inspiring, exciting results from 16 participants from different disciplines and cultural backgrounds, originating from 1 assignment: develop a new type of brick.

Find exhibition details at the .ekwc website or read on for project background.the project - brick "By setting up special projects, particularly its studies into innovative ceramic building materials, .ekwc publicizes the fact that it is also a place where architects can experiment with ceramics. One of these projects is Brick, in which architects, designers and visual artists from The Netherlands and abroad have been asked to develop a new type of brick or come up with a new use for existing bricks." why brick? "Brick has been around for thousands of years and is still relevant today. Brick has always been the most obvious building material in use in the Netherlands. Not only is brick a high quality product, but the choice of colours, shapes and textures also inspires architects time and again. Now that the facade no longer has a structural supporting function, but is simply the skin of the building, brick can shake off its rectangular nature. And that is where the challenge lies... Could the new brick be round, hexagonal, perforated or transparent?"

More info: www.ekwc.nl