Since their invention a century ago, screen blocks have had a profound impact on the world of architecture and design. Klay’s new range of 100% natural clay screen blocks is the latest chapter in this long and fascinating story.
House O in Constantia is an elegant poster child for the screen block. A latticed wall constructed with blocks from Klay’s Rectangular Series has transformed the home’s previously enclosed family lounge into a generous and light-filled space with a funky conversation starter at its heart. The same terracotta screen blocks have also added panache to the home’s outdoor patio, connecting the covered space with the garden beyond while providing protection from the wind and the sun.
House O is just the latest example of screen blocks’ incredible versatility.
Block party
It’s hard to say exactly when screen blocks – often referred to as breeze blocks – were invented. Terracotta (“baked earth” in Italian) bricks and tiles were a staple of ancient Greek, Babylonian, Indian and Mesopotamian architecture and have been around for at least 5,000 years.
Architectural terracotta, a lightweight cladding system invented in the 1800s, was used on many of the world’s first skyscrapers, including the legendary Flatiron Building in New York City – but the blocks’ hollow construction was all about saving weight and their centres were always hidden from view.
The intricately patterned, hollow blocks used in the non-load-bearing walls of 1923’s Cathedral of Notre Dame du Raincy – aka the “Holy Chapel of Reinforced Concrete” – are more visually familiar. The 1920s also saw the invention of cobogos in Recife, Brazil. These bold, geometric blocks made from concrete or clay quickly became a staple of South American design.
Screen blocks as we know them shot to global attention in 1959 with Edward Durell Stone’s paradigm-shattering design for the US Embassy in New Delhi, India. The building, which features a dramatic main façade constructed entirely of patterned screen blocks, was described by Frank Lloyd Wright himself as “one of the finest buildings of the last 100 years, and the only embassy to do credit to the United States.”
New kid on the block
Suddenly, screen blocks were ubiquitous, featuring in homes, offices and hotels from California to Australia and Vietnam to South Africa. The blocks fast established themselves as a staple of the mid-century modern (MCM) aesthetic. This trend was driven by places like the Parker Hotel in Palm Springs, California. Its dramatic entrance, featuring a triple volume breeze block wall and a recessed orange door, has contributed to the property becoming an icon of MCM design.
Instagram Post – Parker Palm Springs
Breeze blocks proved especially popular in warmer climates (Californian architects often used them to dilute the sun, while Floridian designers employed them as a shield against hurricane-strength winds). They were particularly suited to outdoor use: to elevate a perimeter wall, to encase a stairwell, or even to hide an unsightly washing line. That said, screen blocks did also show their face in both colder climes and in indoor design elements.
Soon, most cities had their own screen block manufacturers (the blocks’ size and weight make long-distance transport pricy) with individual factories often inventing their own patterns. This breeze block boom saw the creation of at least 200 different patterns in both concrete and clay. Consumers couldn’t get enough of them – until they could. Sometime in the 1970s, the bubble burst and screen blocks went out of fashion. Many manufacturers closed down and architects largely forgot about them.
Screen saver
But you can’t keep a good thing down forever. In recent years, postwar design has experienced a gale-force second wind, transforming the mid-century modern aesthetic from dowdy to cool overnight. While “it is of course a well-known strategy to take the most passé thing you can find and re-appropriate it, for shock value,” architecture professor Naomi Stead feels that this is not what is happening with screen blocks as they “have qualities that don’t exist in other materials.”
As Stead explains: “You can make permeable walls out of timber or sheet materials or even bricks, but you won’t get quite the same effect as breeze blocks provide: a durable screen which is private and secure, offers sun shading and weather protection and ventilation, and has the added bonus of being highly patterned with geometric ornament. Breeze blocks expand the architect’s repertoire and ability to manipulate the wall with different degrees of solidity and permeability, openness and enclosure.”
From concrete to Klay
Modern screen blocks have embraced clay as their material of choice, stepping away from concrete. Painted concrete breeze blocks can make a statement, but natural terracotta screen blocks are more elegant and timeless, and their earthy colours will never fade – just look at the ancient temples of the Indus Valley for proof. Clay – with its delicate grains and earthy tones – is one of those materials that will never go out of fashion. So it’s no wonder modern designers and architects can’t get enough of it.
While brightly coloured screen blocks (especially with some glazing options in the works) do have their place, the KlayConcept range of 100% natural clay screen blocks is an equally captivating. The screen blocks come in a variety of creative and versatile designs and are available in three sophisticated natural colours: chai, espresso and latte. Thanks to the 1140°C firing process, these rich, earthy tones will never fade – making maintenance a breeze (pun unavoidable) and flair an inevitability.
Despite only being launched in September 2023 the range has already inspired architects and designers across South Africa to push the boundaries of design – House O is by no means alone.
As Stead puts it, “the exploration, and valuation, of pattern, geometry, adornment and richness in the surface of buildings is very much A Good Thing. And so, all hail the breeze block: a material redeemed.”
Written By: Nick Dall | Freelance journalist, author and copywriter based in Cape Town, South Africa
