More is more: GIMA

Let's start with the words of a master: ‘How sensible is this small handy form, so useful for every purpose. What logic in the bond, pattern and texture. What richness in the simple wall surface, but how much discipline this material demands!’ This is how Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, hymn-like, spoke about bricks, for whose sake he even resisted the typical Bauhaus reduction that demanded purism even on facades.

As one of the most important architects of modernism, he recognised that bricks are not to be taken lightly. These natural materials can be used to create clear forms and emphasise architectural ideas. They are durable, energy-efficient and versatile – as the traditional brickworks GIMA proves again and again with its special formats and special colours.

GIMA was acquired in 1903 by the great-grandmother of the current managing director Claus Girnghuber. For over 100 years, a love of experimentation and know-how have guaranteed the company’s high levels of quality. Every project is seen as a welcome challenge where architects' visions with clinkers, pavers and other bricks can be realised. The extensive stock assortment also ensures perfection on smaller projects.

Just what can be achieved with clay can be seen, for example, on the almost-completed Küppersmühle Museum extension project, one of the leading art museums in the Ruhr metropole. It feels as it has always been there and this is largely due to a collaboration between GIMA and the architects Herzog & de Meuron, who 20 years ago transformed the old warehouse complex into an ultra-modern exhibition centre.

GIMA has succeeded in utilising the historical materiality of the former warehouse in the harbour in Duisburg with real precision, and celebrating the extraordinary character of the old brick buildings. A broken clinker brick was used for the imposing brick facade, while almost a thousand hand-cut bricks were used for the ‘Küppersmühle’ lettering, their smooth surface contrasting with the broken-rough clinker bricks.

Similarly impressive is the concrete and brick facade design of a new hotel in Munich's Werksviertel, a growing, modern quarter in the city that has retained the charm of its old buildings. For the impressive, multi-layered facade of the hotel building, Hild & K Architekten utilised clinker bricks, special formats of which were cast in prefabricated concrete elements coloured red – as a modern interpretation of the traditional construction method of important buildings in the Bavarian capital.

Many other beautiful facades created with the help of GIMA can be found all over Germany, including the Saturn building on Hamburg's Mönckebergstraße, the St. Johannis residential quarter in Nuremberg and the Vitra show depot in Weil am Rhein. Production takes place exclusively in Marklkofen – even for international projects such as the Tate Modern in London or the Musée Unterlinden in Colmar.

GIMA is not only known for innovative facade solutions however, the company is also considered a pioneer in the field of terraces and pathways. The company’s clay pavers and floor solutions cover the full spectrum and are in no way inferior to the facade clinkers in terms of variety. Everything is possible, from brick format to brick floor tiles to square paving stones, for realising the projects of professionals and non-professionals alike.

In addition to custom-made products, the range of fixed, permanently stocked materials for architects and DIY specialists has also grown. The product range offers inspiration and covers a wide spectrum of shapes and colours. Whether the classic, more-restrained shades of grey and red or more-modern looking colours reminiscent of holiday resorts in the south – every product is dyed-through and done so without the application of artificial colour.

Another highlight is the company’s first ceramic terrace system CERPIANO+, which allows generous surface design in four earthy shades, two format sizes and two surfaces – for large hotels, pool areas, commercial buildings or on the roof terrace at home. The natural material is elegant, colour-fast, non-combustible, frost-proof and weather-resistant.

Thanks to the system of aluminium rails and rubber supports, CERPIANO+ can be laid quickly and easily on almost any surface – a feature of the new pavers that both professionals and experienced hobby designers can enjoy. Additionally, laying aids along two edges allow for ease of laying and ensure a uniform joint pattern.

To find the perfect solution for each individual project, GIMA is there for architects, planners and builders – from first idea to final delivery, whether for floor or facade. So in the case of GIMA and its range of products, Mies van der Rohe's most famous quote, less is more, does not quite fit, because here the rule is: more is more – more variety, more nature, more sustainability, more stock, more quality, more GIMA.

© Architonic