Learn the origins of cotton bricks 'classics'

Originating from France, these cotton bricks have "stormed the wind" when introduced to Vietnam.

History of "classic" cotton bricks

Speaking of cotton tiles, marble tiles "legend", you probably remember right away the houses with the background is paved with a brick shaped classic symmetrical pattern.

If in modern times, the glazed tiles make you overwhelmed to the point of " can mirror the mirror ", the tiles with simple and handmade patterns hide themselves on the floors that look cozy and ancient. old.

It can be said that the brick is the type of brick that was associated with the simple childhood of a Vietnamese generation. During the subsidy period , you can see the brick floor in many office buildings, hotels or buildings that the French built in Vietnam.

But have you ever wondered, cotton tiles (or cement tiles, flower tiles) have simple patterns but this delicate appearance ever since, how to develop? Go back in time to learn the story of this "once-shiny" cotton tile.

From the first cotton bricks in the world was born .

Around 1850, at Viviers - where the first French cement factories were assembled, engineers studied and produced a product made from a famous source of cement here. It is floor tiles with beautiful pattern decorations.

These extremely durable and aesthetically pleasing tiles are made entirely by hand with the help of steam-operated presses - a tool that has been invented not long ago in Europe.

Cotton tiles are quickly known to consumers and not long afterwards, a series of cotton brick factories sprouted all over France, from economic centers like Paris and Lyon to the port city of Marseille.

Pictures of tiled flooring in Mexico.

Some of the long-standing notes about tiles show that, in the 60s of the nineteenth century, cotton tiles first appeared in Barcelona and in 1886, Spaniards introduced them throughout Latin America. - follow the footsteps of the imperial army of the dynasty.

At the same time, Indians or Italians are also proud of the exquisite cotton tiles that carry their home brand. But in any country, cotton tiles still carry on themselves the simple, simple but diverse colors. More specifically, the soft patterns printed on the tile floor are always beautiful and beautiful, worthy of a completely different and extremely unique product.

By about 1920, cotton bricks were considered high-class materials , used to decorate the palace of the upper class, the castle in France or even the government building in Berlin .

It can be said that, with the diversity of colors as well as the beauty, elegance, sophistication and art, cotton tiles quickly became the new standard in the interior decoration industry at that time.

. to the "revolutionary home" of cotton tiles in Vietnam

Around the end of the nineteenth century, the French brought with them Western techniques and advances to build a modern infrastructure system in Vietnam.

Along with the process of formation and development, Vietnamese architecture is somewhat affected by space, technology and construction materials with French architecture. Also at this time, cotton brick materials were imported into Vietnam by the French.

Image of a brick floor in the late nineteenth century in Vietnam.

Because the production of cotton bricks is almost entirely manual , it does not require the firing of ceramic tiles, porcelain tiles, so it is suitable for mass production to serve the infrastructure construction process.

At this stage, cotton bricks are considered " queens" in decorative materials. Because of advantages such as variety of designs, colors, airy, easy to clean, durable with time, tiles are the choice of many Vietnamese people.

Although many years have passed, but so far, to give birth to traditional bricks still requires workers to do the work by hand. The indispensable material of this product is cement, natural sand powder, mold, pigment and the help of the press.

The first step to making a cotton brick is to choose a pattern. This template will be placed in a steel mold of the size of a brick.

Close up of a French cement tile mold in 1920.

Next, a liquid mixture of white cement, natural stone powder, pigment is poured by hand into separate molds. Different color mixes are used to create different colors for bricks. This is the first stage of coloring the bricks.

After the mold is removed, you get the first layer of bricks. A thin layer of smooth sand and cement mixture is coated on the color layer to form the second layer, which works to make the first layer shape better.

A layer of sand and cement mixture is poured into the mold before being applied to the press to achieve the desired tile thickness. All these layers will be put into hydraulic presses.

The water of the first layer will be absorbed back into the layers of dry materials, which creates a chemical reaction between the materials in the layers that make the brick hard.

After completing these steps, the tiles will be soaked in water to obtain the necessary moisture and then dried for a while.

Finally, each tile is polished surface to increase brightness. It can be said that with such a manual process, brick-makers work as the artist.

Although loved and used in many buildings and houses, in the 1990s, fired bricks or ceramic tiles began to encroach, making cotton tiles seem "extinct".

However, with aesthetic features, as well as the uniqueness of quality, love with cotton tiles resurfaces and many cafés and restaurants choose as a decoration.