In researching the history of breeze blocks, we found that their story is less of a straight line and more of a shared architectural idea that appeared in different places, climates, and materials over time.
Long before the modern concrete breeze block, many cultures used screens, lattices, and perforated walls to manage light, air, privacy, and heat. In Arab architecture, the Mashrabiya used intricate wooden latticework to filter sunlight, preserve privacy, and encourage ventilation.
In other hot climates, including parts of Africa, builders also used perforated clay, mud, and masonry elements to soften harsh sun while allowing air to move through a space.
In India, the jaali has long shown how small perforations in a wall can serve both beauty and function. Effective in hot dry as well as hot humid climates, jaali screens reduce direct sun and help limit heat gain while still allowing air to pass through. By filtering light, encouraging cross breezes, and preserving privacy, the jaali became a practical architectural response to climate as well as an expressive surface.
In Brazil, a related and important development was the Cobogó. The term generally refers to a hollow wall element used to bring light and natural ventilation into buildings.
Cobogó is the Brazilian name for a “void brick,” a perforated masonry block developed in Recife, Brazil, and patented in 1929. Created for tropical climates, it allowed buildings to receive natural light and ventilation while maintaining privacy. The name combines parts of the surnames of its three inventors: Amadeu Oliveira Coimbra, who was Portuguese; Ernest August Boeckmann, who was German; and Antônio de Góis, who was Brazilian. We could not find any drawings from the patent.
As seen at private homes such as The Storer Home, above, and the Biltmore Hotel in Scottsdale, Frank Lloyd Wright’s decorative Textile Block systems, dating back to the 1920s featured mainly solid blocks, but often had a version of the design that had openings, serving as a screen block.
In 1939, the Brazilian Pavilion by Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer introduced Brazilian modernism to an international audience at the New York World Fair. Its elevated form, sweeping ramp, tropical planting, and perforated façade combined modern design with practical responses to climate. The breeze-block-like screen filtered sunlight, created privacy and shadow, and pointed toward the later importance of cobogós and brise-soleil in Brazilian architecture. The Cobogó also became more than a functional building element. In Brazilian modern architecture, it was used for its visual rhythm, shadow, and sculptural quality. 
Lúcio Costa went on to popularize the element through references to colonial architecture, and Cobogós became part of the language of modern Brazilian design.
Architect Edward Durell Stone’s American Embassy in New Delhi, which opened in 1959, and won him a spot on the cover of Time Magazine, is an important reference in the history of decorative screen walls. Stone used patterned concrete screen elements, which he called Empress Blocks, to filter the intense sun while giving the building a ceremonial presence. The façade shows how a screen wall could be both climate-responsive and highly architectural, becoming not just a shading device but a defining part of the building’s identity.
Soon, concrete Breeze Blocks had spread widely, and they were being made in factories around the world. In Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and the United States, architects and builders adapted them to local climates, materials, and styles. They were used in new construction and also to remodel historic buildings such as the art deco hotel above.
Across the US sunbelt, breeze blocks became closely associated with midcentury modern design.
Across the US sunbelt, breeze blocks became closely associated with midcentury modern design. They were used for garden walls, carports, pool areas, apartment buildings, storefronts, and residential façades.
Today, breeze blocks are being rediscovered for many of the same reasons they were valued historically.
Sources:
Cobogós, textile-block ou módulo?
Cobogós: breve história e usos
Edward Durell Stone Wikipedia Page
Cobogó Wikipedia Page
Cobogó and the Coloniality of the Brise-Soleil
Time Magazine Archives
Please note: Historical photos, real buildings, and AI-generated images were used to tell this story.