Collected Material File #07
Brick rubble, concrete RUBBLE & concrete overpour
Collection Details
15 Phoenix Street, Brunswick, 3056, Victoria
Merri-Bek
Collected from Millie Cattlin and Joseph Norster
July 2024
Collection Type
Construction and demolition rubble/byproduct from a commercial renovation
Previous Use
Bricks - Used for the former school building walls
Old Concrete (rubble) - Used for the former school building area floor and surrounds
New Concrete (red colour) - Overpour building byproduct from the new construction
The story of collection
Millie and Joe of These Are The Projects We Do Together as well as a constellation of other initiatives (Siteworks, The Quarry and more) have commissioned Georgia Stevenson to create a site specific installation of ceramics. The collection will feature large format tiles and cups using materials collected from the site at Balam Balam Place.
Extended Material Data
Coordinates
-37.77001541012578, 144.96021120488555
Council / Zoning
Darebin, NRZ Neighbourhood Residential
Material Origin
Unknown
Composition
Brick: Clay (alumina and silica) and grog (fired crushed clay for workability, strength, and low shrinkage)
Concrete: Cement (alumina, silica, calcium, iron from limestone, shells, chalk, shale, clay, slate, sand, iron ore)
Limestone (calcium carbonate from rock or shell) Sand (silica)
Rocks (bluestone/slate)
Measurements (mm)
Brick: Standard brick assumed, 110(w) x 230(l) x 76(h)
Old Concrete Rubble: NA: Cast in situ
New Concrete: Overpour into a 12L Bucket, 290(w) x 230(h)
Appearance
Brick: Consistent batch of bricks, all red-brown in colour with fine grog within. Some pieces contained mortar.
Old Concrete Rubble: Grey, coarse and gritty with aggregate of dark brown and charcoal coloured rock within. Rocks are smooth. Sandy, abrasive texture overall.
New Concrete: Red pigmented concrete (pigment by Abilox, using an inert mineral oxide). Overpour from new construction by builders into 11.1L bucket. Usually overpour would be dumped onto nearby soil, but in this instance was salvaged.
Characteristics & Crushing Notes
Brick: was pre-crushed with large mallet and then crushed in rock crusher.
Concrete: is easily crushable after bisque firing.
Post-firing Characteristics (Cone 6)
Brick: Retains form, does not melt. Colour darkens to deep red-brown, especially under glaze.
Concrete: Lime popouts occur. Some iron-rich rocks melt. Depending on particle size, variation in colours from green to orange to brown.
Potential Applications in Ceramics