Design Map · Eindhoven
The Other Origin
Graduation project by Franz Maria Frei at Design Academy Eindhoven, 2026. Shown during Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven on Design Map, location F5.
Bricks are ubiquitous, found in architecture across the world. But do we really know where they come from, or what they’re made of? For Franz Maria Frei, this curiosity began by researching the geological origins of clay along the River Waal in Gelderland, a region long associated with Dutch brick production. Seeking to bridge the gap between a scientific and sensory explanation for where clay comes from, the Franz Maria Frei created a series of imagined origin stories for the material. Using traditional hand-pressed clay moulds, bricks were created and then intervened in through a process of sculpting, casting and pressing intricate patterns into them. Here, each brick becomes a storytelling device, with scenes animating the typically flat surface from animals to landscapes and even short poems. Together, they are assembled into an installation that invites the viewer to approach the bricks in their own surroundings with a sense of imagination and wonder.