Haga Tegelbruk - Group 2 Anders, Mandus, My

LOCALLY PRODUCED

The brickfactory in Haga is today the only excisting  brickfactory in Sweden and with an increase in demand for brickwork, the future seems to be bright.

The clay used for the production comes from farmland in the neighbourhood why the production can be classified as ecological. The principle is simple; the topsoil is moved to the side while the clay is being digged up. When this is done the topsoil is put back and the farmland is redo to be reused. 

STRINGPRESSED

Brickbuildings from the national romatic era around the 1920’s were made by hand which gives every stone a unique appearance. Today a similar method can be used but with a machine but it is still very expensive. At Haga, a method called “stringpressed”, is used.

THIS IS HOW IT WORKS

• A tractor fetches the clay from a local farmland
• The clay is pilled up near the factory and regularly transported to a vessel on the inside
• From the vessel, the clay is transported to a tumbler where sawdust, sand and, if necessary, water is added (depends on the moisture content in the soil)
• The mixed clay is then transported to a big vault where it is stored and matures over time.
• The matured clay is picked up by a band with scoops which bring it to a compressor where it is processed and pressed into a compact dough which is pressed out of a rectangular shaped nozzle. The result is a loaf of clay.
• The clay loaf is thereafter cut with a thin thread which leaves several clay blocks with brick dimensions.
• The clay blocks are then fetched by a trolley and left in a drying cabinet where it is stored for three days.
• When the blocks are dry, a trolley brings the clay to the oven where it stays for five days to become brick
• Finally the brick is being wrapped in plastic and put in a storage

STRUCTURE AND COLOR

The stringpressed brick can be made with different textures and nuances. By covering the brick in sawdust that incinerates in the oven a texture is achieved. As the texture comes from an organic process every piece of brick gets its own character. Different types of sawdust generate different types of textures. 

The color range could be considered as wide. By regulating the amount of oxygen during the process in the oven as well as setting the temperature, the color is affected. The lower the temperature the brighter the brick. Yet it is not possible to achieve brick with a nuance similar to terracotta since the temperature required is too low to make it frost resistant.