Interview with Prof. Christian Heuchel
When Brickwork Tells a Story
A podcast conversation from 2022 on brick, architecture, and identity continues to attract attention across the industry to this day. At the heart of the discussion are the perspectives of Bernhard Krutzke (Managing Director, Backstein-Kontor Cologne), Florian Schöter (Sales Germany, BK), and Prof. Christian Heuchel (artist, architect, and university lecturer), who together explore key questions surrounding the impact of materiality, colour, and architectural attitude.
Central to the conversation is the question of how architecture acquires identity — and the role clinker bricks plays in shaping it. The discussion ranges from craft-inspired bricks with an individual character to industrial brick architecture as an expression of status and social development, extending to contemporary design approaches that rethink surfaces and textures. What becomes clear throughout is that clinker is far more than a building material: it is a carrier of meaning, history, and expression.
For us at Tonwerk-Klinker, this very discourse is highly relevant today. In close and longstanding collaboration with Backstein-Kontor Cologne, we continuously explore the further development of clinker surfaces — navigating the intersection of material tradition and technological innovation.
Florian Schöter describes this evolution within its historical context: “Bricks were once produced entirely by hand, giving each individual piece a unique character shaped by its manufacturing process and firing. With industrialisation, they became increasingly used in industrial architecture, where they evolved into an expression of identity and social status — brick architecture became a status symbol.”
In the interview, Bernhard Krutzke remarks on Tonwerk-Klinker: “We sell a great number of brick-slips. In doing so, we collaborate with a manufacturer that uses digital printing — currently one of the most advanced approaches in the field.”
About the Podcast Episode
The use of digital printing on brick-slips opens up new creative possibilities without compromising the material’s inherent character. Colour is no longer understood as a superficial finish applied afterwards, but as an integral component of the architectural concept itself. The result is precisely calibrated surface compositions that consistently unite materiality, chromatic effect, and architectural context.
The podcast highlights a principle that remains just as relevant today: architecture requires identity - and clinker continues to be one of its most powerful carriers. When clinker tells stories, it also tells the story of architecture itself.
In the podcast on World-Architects, Prof. Christian Heuchel speaks with Bernhard Krutzke and Florian Schöter from Backstein-Kontor Köln about architecture, brick construction, and the “Kölsche Kachel” — a product of intensive collaboration developed within the framework of the Parkstadt Süd project. We extend our sincere thanks to Prof. Christian Heuchel for his generous support and permission to publish this material.
Video stills © Anselm Diehl, Berlin
