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Not just another brick in the wall

Updated: Feb 12

In 1961, incidentally, the year of my birth; Louis Kahn built the structures for the Indian

Classroom, IIM Ahmedabad
Classroom, IIM Ahmedabad

Institute of Management in Ahmedabad. Subsequently, in the mid 80s, I was fortunate to study there for two years. The time at IIMA was among other things, an immersion in the architectural metaphor of Louis Kahn - my dorm, classroom, mess hall, library - everywhere I spent time, the exposed bricks, the lines and curves, the interplay of light and shadow shaped my impressions. What moved me the most was how the lowly brick had been used to create solemn, inspirational, moving structures that transcended the basic material that they were made of.


Many years later, when I moved to Bangalore, I came across the homes designed by architects Kamal & Shibanee Sagar. Their work stood out from other builders for multiple reasons - one

aspect that appealed to me was their use of extruded wire cut bricks on the outside of the homes they built. The bricks they used were narrower and longer than conventional bricks,

Exterior wire cut brick walls - Kamal Sagar architect
Exterior wire cut brick walls - Kamal Sagar architect

they also seemed to retain their base colouring much longer and aged very gracefully. The bricks were used in simple yet elegant patterns that made the structures stand out in the real estate landscape of Bangalore.


I was eager to incorporate exposed wire cut bricks in the exterior design of our new home.




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