Brick, cement, stone, and tile have always fascinated me in the various geometric surface designs, textures, and structures they can be formed into. Wood and steel always looks more industrial to me, because there is really only one way to build with it correctly, making all design far less unique.
The buried roof clay tiles at the Portland Japanese Gardens are among my favorite creative designs for making an interlocking ground surface. Even when a tile snaps. You would never know, and it would not lose strength, because 99% of the tile, except the side edge wall is sandwiched tightly in the subterranean earth layers.