Korea University

College of Engineering - KUA

Architectural materials
2023.09.15

Masonry 1
Stone
Fabio Dacarro
Today

1. Masonry introduction
2. Stone masonry: historical notes
3. Stone types and use
1. MASONRY INTRODUCTION
 A Definition of masonry

"Masonry is the construction of building units bonded together with mortar. These units
may be bricks, concrete blocks, or stone. Masonry walls provide the structural support
to a building and are also used for decorative purposes."
(Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice," 15th Edition, AIA, 2013)

https://www.britannica.com/technology/masonry
 Therefore, masonry consists of
Modules (building units, basic parts)

Stone block Clay brick Concrete block

Binding material (mortar)

Masonry is one of the oldest construction techniques. It has always been a manual
labor, entrusted to craftsmen called masons. Masons use hand tools such as trowels,
hammers, chisels, and levels; these tools too have never changed over the centuries

Building site in a miniature of the 14th c.

 Raw materials

In the three
lectures about Modules
masonry (basic parts)
we will deal with

Elements
(basics of
modules
assemblage)
2. STONE MASONRY: HISTORICAL NOTES
Stone has been the first construction material. It is associated to eternal durability. For
this reason it was the material of tombs and sacred places since the Neolithic period
(10,000–4,500/2,200 BC)

Göbekli Tepe, Turkey, 9,500 BC

Stonenge, UK, Bronze age (3,300~1,200 BC)
Egyptian Pyramids, 2700~1700 BC
Mesoamerican Pyramids, 2000 BC~1500 CE
Greek civilization was a moment in history when stone masonry reached the highest
levels of perfection in terms of balancing beauty, proportions, and technique
Temple of Hephaestus, Athens, 449 BC
In ancient Rome, the material that would become predominant was concrete, albeit in
its ancient form. Stone continued to be a primary material but was frequently employed
as cladding, a practice that would become characteristic of the modern and
contemporary eras.

Pantheon, Rome, 113 CE

In the Gothic period, cathedral builders took stone to its extreme structural possibilities

Amiens cathedral, France, from 1220

The Renaissance, inspired by Roman culture, primarily employed stone as a cladding
material, while the structural part of walls was constructed using bricks. This use of
stone would become predominant not only during the Renaissance but also throughout
subsequent periods

Palazzo Rucellai, Florence, 1446-51

The entire 17th and 18th centuries were marked by the use of stone as a cladding
material, both on facades and in interiors. Even in the 19th and early 20th centuries,
facing stone continued to be a material that provided buildings with nobility and luxury

Palazzo Broggi, Milan, 1901

Even in the case of modernist architecture

Casa del Fascio, Como, 1932

Today, stone cladding remains popular
and widespread, often implemented
using various anchoring systems to
attach it to the supporting structure

NOTE: cladding is not exactly masonry (which

is usually referred to structural properties of the
work) but we will take a closer look at this
method
Contemporary experiments

Contemporary architects are

using stone for experimenting
new ways of expression

Herzog & de Meuron, Dominus

Winery, California, 1997
Joshua Ramus (REX), Davis Brody Bond.
Perelman Performing Arts Center, New
York, 2023. Translucent marble