Today, face bricks as veneer of concrete walls are commonly used in the precast industry. In this system, the face bricks are typically laid over a plastic formliner, which contains protrusions that separate and hold the units in position. Once the panels are cast and demolded, the protrusions become a recessed joint. These kinds of bricks are specifically manufactured for this application and are offered in a variety of sizes and colors.

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For this prototype, recycled bricks were sliced in five different thicknesses and used to create a gradient pattern. To hold the sliced bricks in place inside the plywood frames, five types of urethane rubber formliners were used. In this study, all molds were lined up to obtain a flat face brick wall. However, the system also allows for the construction of articulated face brick walls. They were placed in a gradient starting with a wider face brick pattern and reducing its size every two casts, from 1/5 inch (5 mm) at the bottom to 7/8 inch (22 mm) at the top. An intrinsic characteristic of this study is its design potential due to the wide range of face bricks colors, textures and sizes available. As shown in this prototype, the system also allows the repurpose of recycled bricks.