Nearly a Century Turning Clay into Contemporary Architecture: The Story of NBK Architectural Terracotta
Tile Wars · history · · Tile Wars
Since 1927, NBK has transformed terracotta into a key material of contemporary architecture, with landmark projects in New York, London and Amsterdam.
In architecture, innovation does not always mean new materials. Sometimes it means reinterpreting the oldest ones. The trajectory of NBK Architectural Terracotta is a clear example: a company that, since 1927, has turned terracotta into a central element of contemporary architecture.
Founded in Germany as a family business, NBK emerged in a context where ceramics played a mainly traditional role. Unlike many industrial companies, its story has not been built around a single founding figure, but around a corporate culture based on continuity, technique and collaboration.
Throughout the 20th century, NBK evolved alongside the changes in European architecture. Terracotta stopped being a merely decorative material and became a technical component capable of meeting increasingly demanding requirements, thanks to advances in extrusion processes and firing control.
The turning point came in 2007, when the company joined the Hunter Douglas group. This move expanded its industrial capacity and access to international projects, consolidating its global presence.
Since then, NBK has taken part in significant projects such as the David H. Koch Center for Cancer Care in New York, the Booking.com headquarters in Amsterdam and the Fen Court complex in London, where terracotta plays an active role in the building's performance.
One of the key elements has been the development of systems such as TERRART®, which allows terracotta to be adapted to custom designs and ventilated façade solutions, responding to today's demands for efficiency and sustainability.
Almost a hundred years on, NBK continues to work with clay, water and fire, applying a contemporary logic. Its story shows that to innovate is not always to replace, but to better understand what already exists.
Image: NBK Architectural Terracotta