KUSHIRIKIANA brick

Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

2023

In continuation to my thesis project, Kushirikiana brick is a research creation exercise aiming to simulate handicraft and building processes theories. It also simulates the conditions under which the women will be exposed in the FaBrique centre. The project start with the creation of a brick mould designed to give adjency to women in Congo during the building process. The mould aims to re-establish the status quo and provide women with knowledge, economic opportunity, and pride. Inspired by the Nyangezi area, the main brick producer of the province, the mould aims to reclaim a lost identity and preserve skill-based knowledge. It also creates opportunities for innovation and the development of new activities, generating new income streams.

Research Creation Project

Team: Jonathan Kabumbe

Innovation can take place from conception to construction through the tools used, the materials or even the design. Learning through making and Innovation - introducing new ways of building or performing tasks based on what already exists - is essential to shaping our identity.

To simulate local conditions, only hand tools were used to construct the mould. Based on a preliminary site analysis, silver oak and East African mahogany are commonly used for brick moulds in the DRC. White oak, which has similar properties to silver oak, was chosen as the local equivalent material to create the wood panels.

The earth used to make bricks at Nyangezi is composed of 60% clay and 40% silt and sand.

Soil with a similar composition was extracted from one of Ethier Sand & Gravel's earth quarries in Sudbury to make the bricks and replicate the conditions on the ground.

THE SHAPE OF THE BRICK MOULDS THE PATH TO WOMEN'S CREATIVE THINKING AND IMPRINTS THEIR EFFORT ON BUILDING FACADES.

The bricks are air dried for 2 days before being baked in a kiln at a temperature of around 900 degrees Celsius for 10 to 40 hours. The brick turns red at the end of the firing process and must rest for at least 1 hour before being used.

Next project

Each panel can be assembled as a kit of parts and easily disassembled when filled with the soil mixture to allow the brick to dry. Finally, a fifth panel adds novelty and features bamboo, a local material, to create a patterned brick.

The bamboo panel, inserted into the side of the mould, can be used to create ridges of various patterns depending on how the bamboo pieces are arranged.