Mainly referring to Europe. For example in UK and Benelux I see many brick buildings and in Italy and Spain more stone buildings. Which one has which advantage and why?
In: Engineering
Brick buildings are preferred in colder climates (like the UK and Benelux) due to their good insulation and moisture management properties, helping retain heat and manage humidity. Stone buildings are favored in warmer climates (like Italy and Spain) for their high thermal mass, which keeps interiors cooler during the day and warmer at night, and for their durability against intense heat. Local availability of materials also influences these regional building practices.
One of pretty simple reasons is that in warmer climate, it’s usually drier for good part of the year, and there’s no readily available clay, at least not as widely. Also, stones take a long time to warm up. With a cold winter that means that your home will be freezing for a long time before it warms up, and you need to chop a ton of firewood in winter just to get it warm. And if you let fire go out, sure, it’ll cool longer, but a proper winter weather will cool it down nevertheless. So It’s just… more work, with no benefits good enough to make it worth it.
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