Not just another brick in the wall
Artedomus
Born out of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel project, Japanese tile manufacturer Inax creates beautiful tiles that present a functional and durable alternative for interior applications and external facades.
Surviving earthquakes, salt and sun, tiles made from natural elements have been the building blocks of some of the world’s most iconic buildings. Both Jan Utzon’s Sydney Opera House and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel in Tokyo were designed with exteriors formed of tiles. Utzon’s modernist masterpiece, with its complex sails set against the backdrop of Sydney Harbour, is covered with more than a million Swedish ceramic tiles, while the now-demolished Imperial Hotel incorporated thousands of tiles crafted in Japan. Completely different in form and exposed to wildly divergent environments, these buildings are indicative of the design potential and durability of tiles.
So when considering materials for
residential facades, ceramic tiles present a seriously attractive option.
Anyone who has lived in a typical Australian red-brick coastal home would know that old bricks rust. This is a result of the earthen elements that go into forming them – materials that have a metal content that is highly corrosive and which generates the hues of our suburbs.
The first benefit of an exterior composed of unglazed ceramic tiles is that the materials are more refined than those in brick, with less metal content, meaning less chance of degradation. Perfect for the beach house or the poolside pavilion, tiles have worked for everything from Brighton Beach House by Melbourne’s BG Architecture to, yes, the Sydney Opera House.
It is the source of the clay used to form tiles that lays the groundwork for their appearance. For example, the tiles used for Wright’s Imperial Hotel were made by a family-owned business located south of Nagoya where pottery is famous for the reddish tones of the iron-rich clay in that area. Wright sourced clay from close to the town of Tokoname that produced a more yellow tone, giving the hotel its distinct appearance.
From those humble beginnings, the company formed out of Wright’s Imperial Hotel project, Inax, has grown into a global leader in tile design and manufacturing, as well as in the production of sanitary fixtures.
An innovative and pioneering company, Inax not only made the first tiles used for the
exterior of a building in Japan (the hotel) but also invented Japan’s first advanced toilet and self-powered automatic faucet. And the company’s spirit of monozukuri (making things) doesn’t stop there.
Inax’s more traditional tiles (available in a range of profiles beginning at 6 mm) are bound by mortar. As a result, they are tolerant to shifts of the earth. This meant Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel was resilient enough to withstand one of Japan’s most severe earthquakes. It also means that tiles can be used in houses built on unstable ground in Australia.
Inax tiles are not only functional and durable, they are also aesthetically appealing, much like the inspiring composition of Japanese architecture. Throughout the suburbs of Tokyo and beyond, tile facades end seamlessly, with no cut tiles. This is because the houses are designed based on the tile-sheet, not the property boundary.
With Inax’s range of tiles and cladding available in a multitude of different proportions and colours, such beautiful, durable and seamless tile facades are also accessible in Australia. ARTEDOMUS