Yes, you can absolutely design an apartment building with all facade planes using
perforated brick walls, but for a multi-story building, it must be treated as a
curtain wall or screen rather than a load-bearing structure.
Architecturally, this creates a stunning "veil" effect that allows for natural
ventilation and dappled light (often called a Mashrabiya effect), which fits your
"Living Valley" concept perfectly.
1. Structural Logic: The "Steel Skeletal" Approach
In an apartment building, the floors and roof are usually supported by a reinforced
concrete or steel frame. The perforated brick walls would then be attached to this
frame.
Shelf Angles: Since you cannot stack perforated bricks 5–10 stories high without
them buckling, you must use steel shelf angles at every floor level (or every
two floors). This transfers the weight of that specific section of the wall directly to
the building's main structure.
Lateral Ties: You will need "invisible" stainless steel ties connecting the brick
screen back to the inner wall or floor slabs. This prevents the wall from blowing in
or out due to wind pressure.
2. The "Living Valley" & Glass Brick Integration
Since you want to run a glass brick strip through the middle to show "tension,"
here is how to handle the stability of an all-perforated facade:
Vertical Reinforcement: For high-rise perforated walls, engineers often run thin
stainless steel rods vertically through the hollow cores of the bricks or within
the mortar joints. This acts like a "spine," allowing the wall to remain thin and airy
without losing strength.
The Glass Joint: Where the glass bricks meet the perforated bricks, ensure there
is a reinforced concrete or steel "belt" hidden behind the bricks. This ensures
that the "tension" line doesn't become a structural weak point.
3. Key Design Considerations
Factor Requirement
Perforated walls let rain through. You must have a secondary,
Waterproo
fully waterproofed "inner skin" (glass or solid wall) with a
fing
drainage cavity.
At high altitudes, wind whistling through perforations can be
Wind
loud. Use rounded brick edges or vary the hole sizes to break up
Noise
the airflow.
Dust and birds can nest in the perforations. Design the gap
Maintenan
between the brick screen and the inner window to be wide
ce
enough for a person or a cleaning tool to reach.
4. Technical Tip for Your Concept
To emphasize the "tension," you can vary the "porosity" of the bricks.
Bottom of the building: Use more solid bricks with small perforations (to look
heavy and grounded).
The "Valley" (Glass Middle): Use the highest transparency glass.
Top of the building: Use very open, lace-like perforated patterns to make the
building feel like it’s dissolving into the sky.
To design an apartment building facade entirely out of perforated brick with a glass brick "tension"
strip, you must move away from traditional load-bearing masonry. Precisely, you are designing a
**perforated curtain wall** or **masonry screen**.
### 1. Structural Logic (The "Shelf" System)
You cannot stack perforated bricks for multiple stories without them crushing under their own weight
or buckling. You must use **Steel Shelf Angles** (e.g., Ancon or Leviat systems) at every floor level
(or every two floors, max 9m–12m height).
* **The Weight Transfer:** The shelf angle is bolted to the concrete floor slab of the apartment. It
supports the next section of brickwork, meaning the bricks on the 5th floor aren't pressing down on the
bricks on the 1st floor.
* **Expansion Joints:** Below each shelf angle, you must leave a horizontal **soft joint** (usually
10mm–15mm filled with compressible foam and sealant). This allows the building frame to "creep"
and the brick to expand thermally without cracking.
### 2. Stabilizing the "Tension" Middle (Glass + Perforated)
The glass brick strip is the most vulnerable part because glass cannot be drilled or tied easily.
* **Concealed Armature:** Behind the glass and perforated brick "valley," use a **galvanized steel
framework** (HSS posts). The perforated bricks are tied to this frame using stainless steel wires.
* **Vertical Reinforcement:** For high-wind loads on a perforated wall, run **threaded stainless steel
rods** vertically through the holes of the perforated bricks. These rods are anchored to the floor slabs
above and below, acting like a "spine" that holds the screen against the wind.
* **The Glass-Brick Interface:** Do not use standard mortar to bond glass to clay brick. Use a **high-
bond clear structural sealant** or a specialized mortar with high polymer content to accommodate the
different expansion rates of glass and clay.
### 3. Facade Layering (The "Double Skin")
Because a perforated wall is "open," rain will go straight through it. For an apartment, you need a
**Dual-Wall System**:
1. **Outer Skin:** Your perforated brick and glass brick "art" wall.
2. **Air Cavity:** A 50mm–100mm gap for ventilation.
3. **Inner Skin:** A standard weatherproof wall (insulated stud wall or CMU) with the actual windows
of the apartment.
### Precedents for Your Concept
* **The Crystal Houses (MVRDV, Amsterdam):** Uses solid glass bricks at the bottom that transition
into traditional clay bricks at the top. They used a high-strength UV-bonded transparent adhesive rather
than mortar to achieve total transparency.
* **Veil House (Paperfarm):** A perfect example of a "brick veil" that wraps an entire residential
structure, using a perforated pattern to balance privacy and light.
* **South Asian Human Rights Documentation Centre (Anagram Architects):** A rotating perforated
brick facade that creates a "moving" wave pattern, similar to how you might visualize your "tension"
concept.
### Technical Detail Checklist
| Component | Precision Requirement |
| --- | --- |
| **Wind Load** | Must be calculated for "open structures" (usually lower pressure but higher
turbulence). |
| **Material Ratio** | Perforated bricks should generally have an "open area" of no more than **30-
40%** for structural stability. |
| **Wall Ties** | Stainless steel ties (Grade 304/316) every 400mm horizontally and vertically. |
