Hauptbibliothek, Vienna
„It was important to me that a public building in a public place ages gracefully. Therefore materials such as sheet metal and granite were ruled out from the start. Ceramics offer several advantages. Although the building is self-contained and also highly monumental, the use of ceramics means that the overall visual effect is not brutal. Another major benefit of ceramics relates to the construction physics. The use of insulation bricks, where every individual one is different, has a very good impact on the sound reverberation of the surrounding buildings. If a smoothly surfaced material had been used, it would have been significantly louder. I also didn’t want a building in grey, but in a colour that radiates warmth and friendliness. In this case, the light terracotta colour is ideally suitable. I also like the fact that the ceramics always look different according to the weather.“ Ernst Mayr