Catalonia・Catalan Arch: A Curved Surface Built with Thin Bricks

A vault made of thin bricks. It is constructed from several layers of flat, thin terracotta bricks, stacked and bonded together in a flat-laid manner. Its thickness is only about ten centimeters, yet it can span large spaces. Looking up from below, the arrangement of the bricks clearly follows the curve, with the mortar joints forming a fine texture. The surface is not plastered, retaining the original reddish-orange color of the bricks. It is used for floor slabs, under stairs, and roofs.
Avoid: plastering the vault to hide the brick texture, using concrete to simulate the curved surface, making the brick arrangement chaotic, making the arch heavy and losing its lightness.

Translated from Chinese by AI.

一面薄磚砌的拱頂。它由數層扁薄的陶磚以平鋪的方式層層黏疊而成,厚度只有十公分左右卻能跨過大空間;從下往上看,可以清楚看到磚的排列走向順著曲面延伸,磚縫形成細密的紋理。表面不抹灰,保留磚的橘紅本色。它用在樓板、樓梯下方與屋頂。避免:把拱頂抹平遮住磚的紋理、使用混凝土模擬曲面、讓磚的排列方向雜亂、把拱做得厚重失去輕薄感。