Forward to the Past

Brick oven design has evolved in a few significant ways.

• Modern wood-fired ovens on the market today, although claiming to be brick ovens, are by and large, cast refractory.
• Designs for many current ovens don't leave enough access to the interior --the area below the flue is narrow.
• All brick ovens built today can take advantage of space-age refractory insulating materials to retain heat for long periods of time.

My current brick oven design is tending more toward the original proportions of the ovens I saw in Pompeii--- wide opening at the face, generous throat, and smaller but proportionally precise mouth.

The Ventura, California project is a good example.