FIRE BRICK BUILDINGS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1148, 29 November 1873, Page 12

FIRE BRICK BUILDINGS.

The London Society of Arts has recently had under its consideration a plan, recently brought forward, for constructing buildings by the use of firebrick with jointings of fire-clay, instead of jointings of mortar or cement, so that, practically, the building is made entirely of firebrick. It is proposed to make each apartment of a warehouse entirely selfcontained, so that, should the goods in it ignite, it can be shut off from other apartments, and, even if its contents should be entirely consumed, the communication of fire to other parts of the structure would be . prevented. These rooms may be multiplied in number on each, floor to any extent, or additional storeys may be added — the communication from story to story being by circular stairways, adjoining wide corridors, there being only outside doors, and so constructed as to exclude external air as much as possible. As there is to be no opening except to the external air in the warehouses — that is, no direct communication from floor to floor — it will be necessary, in entering the building, to enter first a corridor, access being gained from these corridors to the several rooms on each floor through the outside windows or doors. These corridors are intended to be, each of them, a perfect fire-proof gallery. It is also proposed to separate the space in each room into cells or alcoves, by walls so placed and constructed as to regard the convenience of stowage ; these alcoves to be closed by doors, if desired, so that, in case the contents of one of them become ignited, they would not affect those in another department. All the walls, roof, floors, doors, shutters, and in fact every portion of the building is proposed to be constructed of fire-clay bricks. Each room is to be furnished with doors and shutters ; and, by closing the doors and slnitters, each room, corridor — in short, the entire warehouse — would become hermetically sealed, and perfectly fire-proof, either from without or within. It is proposed, furthermore, to glaze the inside walls, arches, doors, and shutters, oh both sides, in the same manner as earthenware is glazed.