Sometimes a straight line is not the best. For example a brick wall. Did you know that corrugated walls are in fact a more efficient and cheaper way to build a sturdy fence?
These wrinkled crankcase walls resist lateral forces, such as wind, better than straight walls.
Known as “crankle walls”, serpentine walls or “zigzag walls”, this type of construction is quite common in the UK. Often used as the wall of gardens.
Corrugated walls aka “crumpy” walls go by many names, they are also known as crinkum crankum, serpentine and ice walls. In 18th century England, wavy walls were used to grow fruit. That’s why back then they used to build from East to West, one side would always face the South to catch the warm rays of the sun.
These raw brick enclosure walls actually use less bricks than traditional straight walls. This is because their curved form provides enough stability for the walls, so they only need 1 layer of bricks instead of 2 like traditional straight brick walls.
These walls have a long history dating back to the 18th century for growing fruit. They are especially popular in Suffolk, where there are twice as many as the rest of the UK. Similar walls can also be found in the United States. The most famous example is at the University of Virginia.
