It’s Not the Brick’s Fault

You say to a brick, “ What do you want, brick?” and the brick says to you, “ I like an arch.” And you say to the brick, “ Look, I want one too, but arches are expensive and I can use a concrete lintel.” Then you ask, “ What do you think of that, brick?” The brick says, “ I like an arch.”  

  – Louis I Kahn, Architect, in an interview with a brick

A Wall of Bricks. Image source: Author

After the interview with the gentleman, the brick was getting ready to leave and join its fellow bricks in the nearby neighborhood. The interview was intense. The brick never expected that the gentleman would ask it about its likings instead of its predetermined yet neglected life. In fact, it was almost shocking when they called it for an interview. 

You see, all the bricks from the brick community had a predetermined life. The brick remembered it’s ancestors and how they used to be cherished just for existing. They were given homes in temples, churches, tombs, palaces, watchtowers, minarets, etc. Even the houses belonging to the non – elites at that time had perfect spots for bricks to rest. Their ancestors were shown their true value for existence. 

The brick is on the way back to it’s home. Not much of a home, it’s just a pile of bricks from its community ready to be used for constructing a mundane house. The brick thinks about its purpose in life. Ever since the invention of cement and concrete, the bricks were not being used to their full potential. They say the bricks are difficult to handle, take more time in construction and require maintenance unlike concrete. Even the gentleman taking its interview was trying to ask if it was okay hiding behind a concrete lintel. Is that what their value has come to? 

Flashback

Every morning when their brothers  are laid in for construction, the brick and the concrete have a chat on how unfortunate it is that both the materials are being exploited and not to their full potential. 

A thought clouds over the brick’s mind. “If we feel that we are not being used to our full potential and to our likings, I wonder how the concrete and the cement feels; seeing that they are being used for anything and everything.” 

“ Concrete, what do you want to be?” 

“ I don't really know.” 

“ But there must be something?” 

“ Not really. Ever since I was born, I was pushed in the direction of rapid construction. Because they used me tirelessly, I was unable to find the right dream for myself. So now I just go with whatever I am turned into.” 

End of Flashback

Thoughts kept revolving around the brick’s mind while walking back home. In order to not reach its “home” soon, it took a detour to look around. A few steps ahead, it saw a house constructed fully in bricks. And by the looks of it, the bricks resting on them seemed happy, basking in the evening sun, blushing because of the heat. The leaves of the trees nearby gently touch them as though they are delicately holding hands.

The brick was watching this scene and envied them. Those bricks there on the house, which are visible to the eyes, were not simply existing, they were alive. The brick continued watching them with longing. The question asked by the gentleman still ringing in it’s mind.

 “ I still want to be an arch otherwise my life is a waste. But will my wish ever be granted?” It thinks whilst its way back to the same pile of mundaneness. 

Later, the brick silently cried as it was being hidden behind the plaster because now it knew that this life was just restricted to  hide behind the cement even for no fault of its own. The cement looked helpless for not being able to bring out the full value of both the materials. It was not the concrete’s fault either. But then whose fault is it?

Written by – Harshada Warrier, studio adda Intern.