TIC Art Center Terracotta Brick Facade in Foshan

A modern architectural language built from fired clay

TIC Art Center reinterprets the familiar scale and colour of brick through contemporary repetition. Fired-clay units appear as an open screen, solid wall surfaces, long-format paving and interior finishes. Their related red and brown tones give the building and landscape a continuous identity without making every surface identical.

The earlier article recorded more than 1.7 million terracotta bricks but incorrectly placed all of them on the facade. LOPO’s project record associates this figure with the wider Times I-City project and its landscape use. The facade is therefore best understood as one important part of a much broader material strategy—not as a 1.7-million-unit facade by itself.

For current product formats and colour options, visit the Terracotta Brick collection.

The ceramic lattice works as a layered facade

The upper elevations are not treated as a flat brick wall. Repeating ceramic units form a perforated outer layer in front of the glazed building envelope. The depth and openings produce a strong pattern at a distance, while closer views reveal a filter that changes with the viewer’s position and the direction of daylight.

At ground level, large arches open the heavier brick base toward the entrance and reflecting pool. This contrast between a visually solid lower volume and a porous upper screen gives the center its recognizable profile while keeping views and daylight available behind the lattice.

Landscape and building share one material palette

The same fired-clay family extends well beyond the vertical facade. Brick-coloured paths curve around circular lawns and water, steps become informal seating, and long pavers define the approach. The landscape is therefore not a separate foreground added to the building; it is part of the same visual sequence.

Variation between brighter reds, darker fired tones and weathered brown surfaces prevents the large paved areas from becoming visually flat. Repetition provides order, while tonal variation gives the material field depth at pedestrian scale.

Light and shadow reveal the depth of the facade

The open ceramic pattern changes in appearance throughout the day. From the exterior, overlapping units make the upper level read as a dense red plane. From inside and beneath the screen, the openings become more visible and soften direct views of the sky. This spatial effect is more specific—and more useful—than treating terracotta only as a decorative colour.

The original article made broad thermal and acoustic claims without giving an assembly, test method or measured result. Those claims have not been repeated here. Any performance statement must relate to the complete wall build-up, including the ceramic screen, cavity, glazing or backing wall, insulation, anchors and joints.

Explore more architectural terracotta applications

TIC Art Center demonstrates how fired-clay units can connect facade design, public landscape and interior circulation without relying on a single flat cladding format. Visit the Architectural Terracotta Gallery to compare other completed projects, or review the Terracotta Tile range for additional surface formats.