K. Roachanakanan¹ and J. M. Nichols²

1. Architectural Technology Department, Faculty of Architecture, Silpakorn University, Thailand, kwan03@yahoo.com
2. Assistant Professor, Construction Science Department, Texas A&M University, jm-nichols@tamu.edu

ABSTRACT

Brick manufacture in some parts of the world still uses a traditional firing technique, rather than the continuous burn kilns used in more advanced countries. In Indonesia, the preferred fuel for the manufacture of brick is rice husks, within the setting of a cottage style industry using techniques that predate the Industrial Revolution by millennia. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the manufacture of brick in three distinct regional settings, Indonesia, Thailand, and the United States. The problems of each of the manufacturing types are placed within the context of a resource scarce world that is seeking a sustainable culture.

KEYWORDS: fired brick, SE Asian practices, firing methods

A4-3