Bricks & Mortar

'80s starchitect Richard Meier had the rare chance to build something modern in Rome's historic centre in 2006, and whilst he didn't exactly hit the ball out of the park it's a pleasant museum/gallery space and stepped piazza.

Not the best stonework to be found in the eternal city however.

A better standard of detailing at the Terme di Caracalla.

Looking at these enormously thick walls, and then seeing the rubbly cement exposed behind the brick, you realize the whole thing must really be a slightly structurally ambiguous masonry-concrete composite.

The bricks are very thin. I reckon not much more than an inch, with mortar joints surprisingly thick so, close up, it's not as artisanal as you'd expect.