The material terracotta couldn't be.
Cement-Based. Hollow-Cast. Engineered Beyond What Fired Clay Can Deliver.
Traditional terracotta manufacturers are set up for volume. If your project doesn't fit their production model, the timeline tells you everything. UltraCotta delivers the same hollow-cast construction at 75% of the unit weight (3/4" wall · 128 PCF · ASTM C948) — with 2.5× the compressive strength (15,320 PSI · ASTM C39) and a production schedule measured in weeks, not seasons.
You're not just looking for a material. You're looking for a manufacturer who engages early — in the field, in the design phase, and through every drawing review. That's the relationship UltraCotta™ is built around.
UltraCotta is Corinthian Cast Stone's proprietary cement-based terracotta alternative — cast hollow in the traditional manner, matching the weight and thermal properties of traditional terracotta. The thermal expansion coefficient matches fired terracotta, making it compatible with existing historic facades.
Where it departs from tradition: compressive strength nearly 2.5× the industry minimum, freeze-thaw performance that other materials can't approach, and the option to engineer load-bearing units when your architecture calls for it.
Every successful terracotta restoration or replacement project comes down to what happens before a single unit ships. Here's where we do the work other manufacturers won't.
We've been deploying 3D laser scanning in the field since 2005 — capturing everything from entire building facades to individual architectural artifacts, at tolerances ranging from ¼mm to 2mm depending on the application. No stone removal, no temporary shoring, no emergency waterproofing, no tenant complaints about dust. Probes for wall depth are still required to finalize the design, but the profile capture that drives your molds is entirely non-destructive. You get a precise point cloud of every profile before the first mold is made.
From laser scan to CNC-milled pattern to production mold — everything happens in-house, start to finish. We don't outsource your historic profiles to an outside pattern shop. Advanced manufacturing capability ensures your custom profile precisely matches the existing, including the ornamental details that define a landmark building's character.
We match glazes in-house from samples, archival photos, or physical mock-ups — exactly as the major terracotta manufacturers do. Our glaze library is built around NYC landmark buildings, and every color match comes with a physical sample for owner and LPC review before production begins.
Our technical team engages with architects from early design through drawing review and submittal approval. We prepare shop drawings, coordinate anchor calculations with structural engineers, and work through RFI responses — so every detail is resolved on paper before anything is fabricated.
We thrive on large, complex facades — the more unique profiles and the greater the scope, the more our capabilities matter. But we also take on the single-unit landmark replacement that larger manufacturers won't schedule. Whatever the scale, the process is the same: field measuring, in-house fabrication, and production that matches the existing building.
Traditional terracotta is not a structural material. UltraCotta can be engineered as a load-bearing component when the architectural design requires it — opening up applications that conventional terracotta products simply cannot support.
Corinthian Cast Stone manufactures Cast Stone, Architectural Precast Concrete, GFRC, and UltraCotta™. We have no agenda for any single product. When you bring us a project, we tell you which material solves your problem best — based on budget, schedule, structural requirements, and how the building needs to look and perform for the next hundred years. That's what 27 years of manufacturing teaches you.
Both are hollow-cast. Both can be color-matched in-house. UltraCotta's 3/4" wall at 128 PCF is ~25% lighter per unit than fired clay — and 2.5× stronger. Here's where UltraCotta changes the conversation.
Large TC manufacturers calibrate their production around volume orders. If you're not filling a kiln run, your timeline reflects that. For landmark restoration projects — where replacement counts are measured in dozens, not hundreds — that often means 12 to 18 months for work that the project schedule simply can't absorb.
Water ingress is the primary degradation mechanism in historic terracotta facades. Traditional fired clay absorbs significantly more water — UltraCotta's cement-based formulation cuts that absorption nearly in half, reducing freeze-thaw stress on the units and the mortar joints around them.
Northeast winters are the stress test that matters. UltraCotta is tested to 300 freeze-thaw cycles with only 0.14% mass loss — a 35× safety margin against the spec limit. That's not a lab curiosity. It's confidence that what you install today is still performing in 2075.
Traditional terracotta is an architectural cladding material — it hangs on the building, it doesn't hold it up. UltraCotta can be engineered as a load-bearing element when the structural design requires it. It's a capability that opens doors on contemporary adaptive reuse and new construction projects where TC simply can't go.
All custom-fabricated. All backed by Corinthian's in-house scanning, CNC, mold shop, and field measuring capability.
Built for landmark work where the standard is: it has to look like it was always there. LPC submittal support, archival color matching, and non-destructive field documentation included.
Authentic terracotta character with the production speed and engineering flexibility modern projects demand. Panel systems, curtain wall integration, and unitized assemblies available.
The intricate details that define a building's identity. Cornices, portals, window surrounds, medallions — CNC-milled from your profile, cast to your specs.
We develop and match glazes in-house — from a sample, a photo, or a historic record. Our glaze library is built around NYC landmark buildings. Physical sample delivered before production begins.
The architects and contractors who've worked with UltraCotta all say the same thing: the conversation they wish they'd had earlier was this one. Not because it's always the right answer — but because knowing it's an option changes how you plan. Eight to ten weeks is a different project than fourteen months. Scope and profile complexity affect the timeline, but the starting point is still a fraction of what traditional terracotta requires.
Request a complimentary sample kit and technical data package — shipped within 3 business days.
Corinthian Cast Stone, Inc. · 115 Wyandanch Ave, Wyandanch, NY 11798 · Est. 1998 · Architectural Stone Manufacturer