Terra Cotta

This hard, fired clay used for architectural ornaments and facings, structural units, pottery, and as a material for sculpture is brownish-red in color when unglazed. It was the only type of ceramic produced by Western and pre-columbian people until the 14th century when fired stoneware came into being. The earliest examples of terra cotta are female figurines discovered by archaeologists in Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan (3000–1500 BC). Terracotta in architecture has a long history in many parts of the world, particularly as roof tiles. Many temples in India are made primarily of terra cotta. In the 19th century architects made extensive use of terra cotta as decoration. The work of American architect Louis Sullivan includes some of the most famous examples. By the third decade of the 20th Century the use of concrete and the advent of Modernist architecture largely ended the use of terra cotta in architecture.

Boston Valley Terra Cotta, Orchard Park, New York

Boston Valley Terra Cotta  manufactures custom architectural terra cotta for restoration projects and new construction. The company has been manufacturing ceramics for over 120 years.

Caring for Glazed Architectural Terra Cotta

Flawed repairs and neglect are among the causes of damage to this material commonly found on late 19th and early 20th century era structures.

Harlem Armory Restoration

Durability+Design March 18, 2016 Article on the Harlem Armory Restoration – The facade project included replacing hundreds of pieces of terra cotta and strengthening the underpinnings of the parapet wall. Damage to the parapet and elsewhere was due to significant corrosion from years of water infiltration. A coating applied to prevent water penetration locked in moisture, damaging the architectural details. Removing the coating would have stripped the protective glaze on the terra cotta so the team opted to replace the architectural details that included two, five foot tall eagles. Boston Valley Terra Cotta, of Orchard Park, NY, hand-crafted the replacement eagles, which were based on 3D models produced from laser scans of the originals.

Harlem Hell Fighters modernization wins preservation award

United States Army article by Eric Durr, New Your State Division of Military and Navy Affairs on the restoration of the Harlem Armory.

The Rise and Fall of Terra Cotta

This post from “Architect”, the online magazine of the American Institute of Architects, is a list of links to trade / company catalogs, visual references and technical publications on terra cottta products manufactured in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The architectural drawings, including detailed cross sections of installations are of use in determining how to repair or replace items installed in that period.