Koninklijke Tichelaar Makkum developed a number of special glazes for a residential construction project by Havermans : Hielkema architects in Breda. The architect was looking for a glaze with a natural vividness and a range of hues instead of flat, uniform colours. The laboratory of Royal Tichelaar did a great deal of research until we arrived at a glaze consisting of minerals that react with each other during the melting phase. Depending on the furnace atmosphere, the exact temperature and the changes it undergoes, a glaze is created that provides a natural variety of tones across the various bricks.

In this building complex, the houses at the ends of the four sections of the square volume are oriented longitudinally with completely blank side walls. The architect wanted the facade surfaces to appear to merge with the sky: from mid blue to light blue. In total 175,000 glazed facade bricks were produced in 13 ascending shades of blue, which achieved the desired effect: a gradient of colour that flows into the colour of the sky. The 175,000 masonry bricks in NF size (72 x 90 x 240 mm) cover a total surface area of 3,000 m2. Lode Havermans: "This brick has never previously been used as cladding. Therefore it is truly unique. We conducted numerous tests with the producer to verify its durability. It is a fired brick so it is incredibly hard. As a result of variations in the furnace atmosphere each brick is slightly different from the other. This is not noticeable from a distance but up close it is a beautiful spectacle. There is also a gleam in the glaze that changes as you walk past."