Many architects responded to the invitation of Kirill to take part in a tour to the showroom of the brick manufacturer Hagemeister, which we announced in June 2014. The architects from St. Petersburg were the first to make this fascinating journey, and not so long ago professionals from Moscow visited the trip.
After arriving at Dusseldorf airport and checking into a hotel, the architects took a two-hour walk through the city of Münster. The route ran along the shore of the lake, past what seemed to be fabulous clinker houses, and then to the historic center of the city. Everything is very clean and very beautiful. And the point is not only and not so much in the legendary German accuracy, but in the material that was used to decorate everything around. Yes Yes! The streets and houses of Münster are like a visual aid for the use of bricks from the Hagemeister factory both on modern buildings and on buildings from the beginning of the last century.
The second day began with a tour of the Hagemeister plant. The architects were shown the entire production process: from mixing different types of clay to packaging the finished clinker. Then - the "holy of holies" - a laboratory where the quality of the finished clinker is controlled and new varieties are created. The culmination of the excursion was the so-called "look into hell": Christian Hagemeister, the owner of the plant and its director, opened one of the 130-meter furnaces, and all those present could see the flame raging there. Interestingly, the temperature in the oven reaches 1100-1300 degrees, and the bricks at the exit from it are not much hotter than freshly baked bread, and you can safely hold them in your hands. Although, naturally, gently pressing the clinker against you is not part of a standard and well-oiled process.
Hagemeister clinker brick: 300 colors, sizes and textures. Clinker for facade and road. Shaped and acoustic clinker … And that's not counting the finished elements and products. All together, it gives almost unlimited possibilities in the choice of finishes. And also - the readiness of Hagemeister specialists to offer architects individual solutions for projects of any scale and any degree of importance.
Afternoon drive to several sites in Münster built using Hagemeister clinker.
Higher Special School of Design, Münster
Extension of the residential area Kinderhaus, Münster
Shopping and entertainment center Germaniakampus, Münster
Due to the false chamfer, the masonry appears to be made of clinker in a square format, when in fact it is a 2DF format.
The third day was devoted to the inspection of objects in the city of Dortmund.
In the morning, Moscow architects, together with the co-owner of the plant, Christian Hagemeister, went to the construction sites of Dortmund, and for safety reasons everyone was given construction helmets.
Building of the insurance company AOK Dortmund, Dortmund
Building of the insurance company Techniker Krankenkasse, Dortmund
Here, it seems that the entire masonry is bonded, however, as the representative of the plant explained, in fact, the masonry is ordinary - spoon, and this impression is created by a false seam "laid" in the middle of each clinker.
Then - a visit to the largest clinker construction site in Germany.
It is located next to the tower of the former Dortmunder U brewery, now converted into a Center for Art and Creativity.
Phönix West Technopark
Well, and the last, final chord was the inspection of the blast furnace at the former steel plant, now transformed into the Phönix West technology park. The stove was preserved as a monument to industrial history. Hagemeister clinker bricks were used in the construction of the facades of the new buildings, as well as in the reconstruction for new workshop purposes. Beautiful, high quality and forever.
Some facts about the production of Hagemeister.
- Hagemeister's production capacity is sufficient to build 10,000 cottages every year.
- State-of-the-art production facilities and optimized firing processes enable the production of approximately 150 million clinker façade bricks annually.
- The Hagemeister factory has been producing clinker bricks for façades and paving stones for over 100 years.
- Four generations of the Hagemeister family have secured the company a leading position among clinker producers in Germany and Europe.
- The classic circular brick kiln of the Gründer period (1870-1873) has given way to the most modern computerized kiln technology. Production capacity and quality have taken a leap into the future. However, ancient recipes and century-old know-how of ancient craftsmen still remain the basis for the production of clinker and its distinctive properties.
Hagemeister holds a special place in German architecture. It is appreciated by builders and architects for its high quality and appearance. Now it is becoming popular in Russia as well, although it must be honestly admitted that such objects as a residential building in Butikovsky lane and Sergey Skuratov's Sadovye Kvartaly residential complex have already brought this material well-deserved fame on the Russian market.
A large assortment of Hagemeister facing and clinker bricks can be viewed and ordered in the Kirill showroom on Begovaya. The warehouse program is in effect.
We offer you a short overview of the brick traditions of the city of Münster.
