Download pdf - 40th anniversaryBrickAwards launched|ÁlvaroSiza in Llinars ... · 40th anniversaryBrickAwards launched|ÁlvaroSiza in Llinars delVallés;Duggan MorrisinBrentford Haverstock in Emsworth;CF

SUMMER 2016

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40th anniversary Brick Awards launched | Álvaro Siza in Llinars del Vallés; Duggan Morris in BrentfordHaverstock in Emsworth; CF Møller in London | Make Architects’ prefabricated ‘woven’ brick panelsFirst person: Peter Barber of Peter Barber Architects | The brick architecture of Cottrell &Vermeulen

2 • BB SUMMER 2016

OOnnee ssiizzee ffiittss aallllBrick’s versatility and expressiveness are important factors for manyarchitects – not least Cottrell &Vermeulen (Profile), whose highly site-specific and idiosyncratic masonry buildings are often distilled from a‘collage of ideas’. Prefabricated ‘woven’ brickwork on a York office buildingby Make Architects (Technical) and AHMM’s technicolour library in Londonfurther attest to brick’s adaptability. Elsewhere Peter Barber (First Person)celebrates inspirational masonry projects from the past, while Álvaro Sizabreaks with tradition by designing a striking red brick theatre in Spain.

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For further details on the bricks/pavers in featured projects, please email [email protected] or tel 020 7323 7030.

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ccoonntteennttss44 NNEEWWSS//FFIIRRSSTT PPEERRSSOONN New brick projects by Hawkins Brown and

RCKa Architects; First Person – Peter Barber of Peter Barber Architects;40th anniversary Brick Awards launched.

66 PPRROOJJEECCTTSS Álvaro Siza, Tompkins Rygole, Duggan Morris Architects,Monadnock, dRMM Architects, AHMM, Haverstock, CF Møller,Omegeving Architecture, and Brady Mallalieu.

1188 PPRROOFFIILLEE Back to school: Richard Cottrell and Simon Tucker discussCottrell & Vermeulen’s brick architecture.

2244 PPRREECCEEDDEENNTT Two brick projects by Saverio Muratori.2266 RREEPPOORRTT//GGUUIIDDAANNCCEE The BDA’s Urban Regeneration Day and its

new guidance document on site practice and workmanship.2288 TTEECCHHNNIICCAALL Corner condition: A Cambridge office building by

Gort Scott employs a range of masonry techniques.3300 TTEECCHHNNIICCAALL An office building in York by Make Architects is partly

constructed from prefabricated ‘woven’ brick panels.

Executive editor: VivianeWilliams MA, FRSA, Design &Marketing Manager at the BDABrick DevelopmentAssociation,The BuildingCentre, 26 Store Street, London,WC1E 7BTt: 020 7323 7030 e: [email protected]

The BDA represents manufacturers of clay brick and pavers in the UK and promotesexcellence in the architectural, structural and landscape applications of brick and pavers.The BDA provides practical, technical and aesthetic advice and information through itswebsite www.brick.org.uk, in its numerous publications and over the phone.

ISSN 0307-9325 Published by the BDA ©2016 Editorial/design: Architecture Today plc

FFrroonnttiissppiieecceethe library at WillesdenGreen, london, by AHMM(ph: timothy Soar).

ccoovveerrcollage of supremewinners from the last sixBrick Awards (clockwisefrom top left): O’Donnell& tuomey’s lyric theatrein Belfast and Saw SweeHock Student centre atthe london School ofeconomics (2011, 2014,phs: Dennis Gilbert);Ortus at the MaudsleyHospital, london,by Duggan MorrisArchitects (2013, ph:Jack Hobhouse); nOrDArchitecture’s Olympicsubstation, london,(2010, ph: Andrew lee);Whitworth Art Gallery,Manchester, by MuMA(2015, ph: AlanWilliams); the MAc,Belfast, by Hackett HallMcknight (2012,ph: christian richters).

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BBDDAA mmeemmbbeerr ccoommppaanniieessAJ Mugridge t +44 (0)1952 586986 www.ajmugridge.co.ukBovingdon Brickworks t +44 (0)1442 833176 www.bovingdonbricks.co.ukBulmer Brick & Tile Co t +44 (0)1787 269232 [email protected] Brick t +44 (0)1226 711521 www.carltonbrick.co.ukColeford Brick & Tile t +44 (0)1594 822160 www.colefordbrick.co.ukForterra t +44 (0)1604 707600 www.forterra.co.ukFurness Brick & Tile Co t +44 (0)1229 462411 www.furnessbrick.comHG Matthews t +44 (0)1494 758212 www.hgmatthews.comIbstock Brick t +44 (0)1530 261999 www.ibstock.co.ukKetley Brick Company t +44 (0)1384 78361 www.ketley-brick.co.ukMichelmersh Brick Holdings t +44 (0)844 931 0022 www.michelmersh.co.ukNorthcot Brick t +44 (0)1386 700551 www.northcotbrick.co.ukMatclad t +44 (0)1978 291133 www.matclad.co.ukRayburn Brick t +44 (0)1698 828888 www.raeburnbrick.co.ukThe York Handmade Brick Co t +44 (0)1347 838881 www.yorkhandmade.co.ukWH Collier t +44 (0)1206 210301 www.whcollier.co.ukWienerberger t +44 (0)161 4918200 www.wienerberger.co.uk


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From the vernacular architectureof Surrey and East Sussex to themasonry structures of Louis Kahnand Le Corbusier, Peter Barber ofPeter Barber Architects reflectson his many brick influencesand insprations.

I love the radical advanced structuresof Eladio Dieste’s 1950’s supercool soaring vaults and go fastercantilevers. Not as one might expectin reinforced concrete, but in a simplehandmade brick. Head to Rome, thebaths of Caracalla, the Pantheon –mass Roman brickwork on a giganticscale; solid, weighty, permanent.And their twentieth-century counter-parts in the stonking magnificentstructures – Bangladesh Parliamentfor instance – of Louis ‘brick whisper-er’ Kahn. And while we’re on thesubcontinent, the lacy brick jali’s ofJaipur and BV Doshi’s hybrid brick/concrete university buildings inAhmedabad; progeny of Le Corbusier’sflirtation with the simple hut in thevernacular-inflected Maison Jaoul.And my first love? The vernacular

buildings of Surrey and East Sussex.Hunkered down against a fold in aWealden landscape, soft pinky bricksof downland clay in rat trap bondwith a dusting of lichen and mossygrapevine pointing. Edwin Lutyens,Baillie Scott, Halsey Ricardo, PhilipWebb, all adventures in the vernaculartradition, but with a quirk, a nuttysouped-up perpend, quoin orcorbel; barley sugar chimneys andcrow step gables.The rough brick of Antoni Gaudi,

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Hawkins Brown is refurbishing and extendingWatesHouse, the home of London’s Bartlett School ofArchitecture since 1975. Due to complete inSeptember, the scheme includes new floors,studios, social and cafe areas, a dedicated exhibitionspace and expanded workshops. “The originalbuilding was clad in a rather undistinguished darkbrown brick, which, when coupled with thevertical spandrel panel cladding contributed toits anonymous street presence”, says projectpartner Euan Macdonald. “Our approach seeks totransform the building, making it more open andaccessible, as well contributing positively to itsconservation area setting. A handmade,water-struck brick was specified for several reasons,including the way its tones and textures relate tothe surrounding context. The brick’s non-standard290x70x52mm format not only corresponds thebuilding’s original six-metre structural grid,but also minimises additional loading on thesuperstructure.”

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Now in its 40th year, the Brick DevelopmentAssociation has launched the 2016 Brick Awards.Projects featuring clay bricks or pavers manufac-tured by BDA members are eligible, with theexception of theWorldwide Projects Award. Thereare 16 award categories with the overall winnerreceiving the BDA Supreme Award. There is also anArchitects’ Choice Award for the shortlisted projectthat receives the most votes from registered archi-tects and architectural students. The closing datefor entries is 24 June. The awards will be presentedat London Hilton, Park Lane, on 10 November.Entry forms can be obtained from the BDA website:www.brick.org.uk/online-entry-form/, by [email protected], or by calling 020 7323 7030.

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Nestled between the ends of twoVictorian terracesin MaidaVale, London,Wedge House by RCKaArchitects has obtained planning consent fromCity ofWestminster Council. “The challenging sitelies directly on a kink in the street with a narrowfrontage opening into a wider plot behind, saysproject director Russell Curtis. “A split plan makesthe most of the available space, resulting in agenerous family home. The adjacent propertiesare faced with a combination of brick and paintedrender.We were keen to ensure that thematerials used on the project were sympatheticto the context without resorting to pastiche.A dark, mottled facing brick laid in English bondis intended to pay homage to the surroundingbuildings, as well as add interest and texture tothe street elevation. Precast, high-performanceconcrete window surrounds with subtle verticalfluting matching the turn in the street providea contemporary interpretation of the stonesurrounds seen elsewhere in the area.”


garden, and in the roofline echoes of theancient crinkle-crankle wall which ranalong the back of my auntie’s flowerboarders in Norfolk.And the future? I have imagined a

five-storey spiral tower built in brickwith a little shop on the ground floor.A friendly stepped path dropping intoa cobbled street winding up the outsideof the building to little landings.Neighbours pausing for a chat. A moregenerous spot with a sunny settlewidening in places into garden terraces.

Lluis Domenech and BrightonBungaroosh. The smooth thin-jointrubbed brick of the Georgian tradition.A glint in the gloss of a London pub’sgreen-glazed brick stall riser.In the modern era, brick as honest

material being what it will for Mies vander Rohe, Alvar Aalto and Khan, as wellas guilty deceitful brick hidden beneaththe heaving rendered south wall ofCorb’s Ronchamp and the suprematistplanes racing through his Villa Savoye.And so, in our refurbishment and

extension of ET Hall’s gorgeous PoorLaw Guardian’s building in Camberwell,London, a palimpsest wall stitched,patched and toothed in reclaimedVictorian Cambridge whites, rubbedreds, second-hand stocks and – star ofthe show – textured rustic creams.Elsewhere a turret with a vaulted brickroof and standing sentinel at the endof the new central courtyard, anextraordinary brick exedra.At our Holmes Road Studios in

London, shades of an English walled

AAbboovvee (clockwise from top left) EmploymentAcademy, London (ph: Morley von Sternberg);Eladio Dieste’s Salto bus terminal, Uruguay(ph: Dieste y Montañez SA); imaginary spiralbrick tower; Homes Road Studios, London.

Peter Barber is principal of Peter BarberArchitects (ph: Morley von Sternberg).

Front doors open, a natter, some DIY,a bike on the railings, an al fresco fag,familiarity, friendship; even shades ofold Porto, where I remember housesranged along steeply stepped alleysdip down to the Douro.

Bold massing and rich materialitycharacterise Álvaro Siza’s Llinarsdel Vallés theatre in Spain.

Llinars del Vallés theatre by Álvaro Sizaand local practice Aresta Arquitectura islocated 25 miles north of Barcelona andforms part of a major regional culturalinvestment programme. Constructedfrom a rich red brick, the £3.4m schemecomprises two principal elements: a300-seat auditorium and an administra-tion block housing offices and auxillary


PPRROOJJEECCTTSSNNEEWW WWOORRKK IINN BBRRIICCKK

PPhhoottooss Fernando Guerra.

SSiizzaa’’ss ssttaaggeeccrraafftt spaces. The former is spread over threefloors with the technical equipmentlocated in the basement, and the upperfloors given over to the stage and seat-ing. Extending above the curved metalroof of the auditorium is an imposingbrick fly tower. Enclosed services spacesand staircases project out from the mainvolumes casting deep shadows on the

masonry walls. Elsewhere, the monolith-ic facades are punctured by long ribbonwindows and storey-high glazing atground level. A series of courtyardsdivide and organise the external space,providing designated gathering andaccess areas for theatre goers, workshopparticipants, staff and artists.



Flemish bonded brickwork articulatesthe facade of a contemporarysuburban house byTompkins Rygole.

Located on a private road in Newbury,Berkshire, this five-bedroom house bylocal practice Tompkins Rygole has beenconstructed from a local, handmadecoarse-textured brick laid in Flemishbond. Dark grey-brown headers contrastwith red-orange stretchers. The latterwere specified to complement a numberof Arts and Crafts houses situated on theroad. A matching walled garden in frontof the house provides a degree of privacyand shelter. Carefully controlled anddetailed fenestration is designed to givethe facade a harmonic rhythm.

PPhhoottooss Simon Kennedy.

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A housing development by DugganMorris Architects forms a strongconnection with its canal-side site.

Brentford Lock West is a low-cost(£1,972 per square-metre) mixed-tenure,canal-side housing development in westLondon by Duggan Morris Architects.Conceived as a pair of cranked blocksfollowing a meandering semi-pedestrianstreet, the scheme features a large baseplinth and accommodates 45 residentialunits. ‘The brick facades respond to thesurrounding context and embody thecraft and skill of local brick tradition’,says the architect. Laid in stretcher bondwith flush joints and a regular non-pig-mented mortar, the bricks range fromlight facings along the towpath to firstquality multi-facings on the lower levels,providing a warm red hue. The multi-facings used on the upper floors areinterspersed with selected dark facingsto create a soft but expressive hue as thebuildings terminate against the Londonskyline. ‘The brick, which is economicand affordable, offers many possibleuses and interpretations given its frost-resistance, haptic qualities and colourvariations’, says the architect.

PPhhoottooss Jack Hobhouse.

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A London housing development bydRMM uses a range of differentcoloured bricks to expressive effect.

Designed by dRMM Architects fordeveloper Lendlease, Trafalgar Place is aflagship housing scheme forming part ofthe regeneration of Elephant & Castle insouth London. Comprising a series ofmini-towers, apartment buildings andtownhouses, the development accom-modates 235 dwellings of which 25 percent are affordable.A range of different coloured bricks

are used externally in reference to thesurrounding context. The red facadesevoke the adjacent vicarage and church,while the colour banding graduating upthe principle frontage pays homage tothe Peabody Estate’s nineteenth-centurybuilding opposite. The latter incorporatesa dark brick base, Kentish red brick body,sandstone detailing and slate blue roof.Recesses between alternating brick

courses together with brick-clad para-pets and deep window reveals providesurface articulation. Keyed-in corners atjunctions between varying brickworkcolours make reference to traditionalbrickworking methods.

PPhhoottooss Alex de Rijke.

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Green and red bricks articulatean idiosyncratic civic building inHolland by Monadnock.

Forming the centrepiece of the Nieuw-Bergen village renewal scheme in south-east Holland, Monadnock’s Watchtowercombines commercial spaces on theground and first floors with a seven-storey public viewing platform. Locatedin the village marketplace, the structuredraws its inspiration from historicalDutch trading buildings. ‘This wasinstrumental in formulating the project’sambivalent nature’, explains the archi-tect. ‘Neither a church or town hall, it isnevertheless intended to represent thecollective.’ A two-storey ‘decorated’base is intended to provide a domesticappearance in keeping with the sur-rounding context, while also contrastingwith the abstract form of the tower.Green and red bricks laid with a Brazilianbond provide an eye-catching and highlytactile aesthetic. Hit and miss brickworkon the tower allows the structure toglow at night, serving as a beacon. Themortar is colour-matched to the greenbricks to emphasise the building’s solidi-ty and sculptural mass.

PPhhoottoo Stijn Bollaert.

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A landmark library in north Londonby AHMM employs glazed whiteand polychromatic brickwork.

The Library at Willesden Green byAHMM occupies a triangular site at theintersection of Willesden Green HighRoad and Brondesbury Park in northLondon. Organised around a central atri-um, the three-storey building includesBrent Museum and its archive, a gallery,function rooms, training spaces and acafe. Informed by the local context, thefacades are characterised by colourfuland carefully articulated brickwork. Laidin a traditional English bond, the eastand west elevations are expressed ashorizontal bands of white glazedbrick – a colour intended to signal thescheme’s civic nature and complementthe neighbouring High Road buildings.

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Polychromatic patterned brick panelswith a horizontal emphasis are intendedto establish a strong relationship withthe listed Willesden Central Library(located on the northern apex of the site)and the buildings on Brondesbury Park.A dark grey mortar was chosen toemphasise the brick bond and coursing,as well as mitigate the appearance ofweathering over time.The bricks are sup-ported on continuous perimeter shelfangles at each floor level and tied back tothe primary steel frame. This allows anadditional layer of mineral wool insula-tion to line the internal face of thefacade, boosting thermal performance.PPhhoottooss Timothy Soar.


PPhhoottooss Simon Kennedy.

A Hampshire church by Haverstockgives the appearance of having beencarved from a single solid mass.

Emsworth Baptist Church in Hampshireby Haverstock is located onNorth Street,opposite the town’s fire station andmuseum. The £1.5m project comprises acentrally located kitchen with plantabove, a 217-seat auditorium, an 88-seathall, cafe, foyer and auxiliary spaces. Thefoyer takes the form of a linear gatheringspace with large picture windows liningthe high street frontage. Externally, aseries of gable walls address different

UUrrbbaann hhyymmnn aspects of the site and surrounding con-text. Angular wall planes, deep reveals,multi-pitched roofs and crisp detailinggive the impression of a homogenousmasonry envelope carved from a singlesolid form. A slender brick tower on thenorth-west corner of the site signals themain entrance and addresses the largerscale of adjacent buildings on the historichigh street.

PPhhoottooss Mark Hadden.


CF Møller uses contrasting light anddark masonry to control and ordera major London housing scheme.

The Moore at Greenwich PeninsulaRiverside in south London, by CF Mølleris a mixed-tenure residential develop-ment planned around a landscapedpodium garden. A series of two- andthree-storey family dwellings line theperimeter of the scheme with theapartments located in two 10-storey‘bookend’ towers. The principal buildingelements are clad in contrasting lightand dark bricks. Intended to evoke the

HHiittttiinngg tthhee hheeiigghhttss rough-hewn, soot-patinated qualities ofnearby Georgian dockworkers’ terracedcottages, the northern tower is cladentirely in a dark textured brick. Brick-clad concrete beams frame the top-floorroof terraces. Deep window reveals,prefabricated brick lintels, brick sills andbrick parapet copings contrast with theultra-slim metal window frames andbalconies. The brickwork is folded intothe entrance lobbies to form feature

walls. Over 30 brick specials wereused on the project to ensure visualuniformity throughout. Flemish bondfeature bands wrap the corners of themain buildings, contrasting with stretch-er-bonded brickwork used elsewhere.Shallow bucket handle joints in a lightermortar are intended to highlight theuneven surface and tactile qualities ofthe bricks.

PPhhoottooss Yannick Milpas.


A contextually-sensitive library byOmegeving Architecture balancespublic and private needs.

Zoersel Library in Belgium byOmegevingArchitecture forms part of a largerscheme aimed at revitalising the towncentre. ‘The design is an exercise in theperception of scale, with the aim ofbalancing the needs of a large publicinstitution with the requirements of asmall urban context’, says the architect.The building is divided into a series oftwo- and three-storey elements, whichproject in and out along the street andhave their own roofs. Inside, the subdivi-sions disappear and the building adopts alarger civic scale. A restrained palette ofmaterials is employed, including tex-tured and glazed black bricks, zinc roofs,white painted walls and timber ceilings.

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A richly crafted and detailedresidential scheme in east Londonby Brady Mallalieu.

Commissioned by the Peabody TrustHousingAssociation,Underwood Road isa 33-unit residential development inWhitechapel, east London, by BradyMallalieu. The scheme comprises twoprincipal elements: a four-to-five storeyblock facing Underwood Road and a rowof three L-shaped courtyard houses tothe rear. The former employs a series ofprojecting and recessed volumesrendered in a range of different bricks,bonds and fenestration types to visuallyreduce its mass and add interest. Basedon a different grid for each volume, threegeneric masonry panels have been creat-ed using projecting or inset bricks. Flush-mounted panels of fair-faced concrete –inset with lettering identifying the build-ing’s address – add further surface artic-ulation. Soffits clad with brick slips cutfrom the facing bricks, together withdeep window reveals are designed togive the structure a sense of solidity andpermanence. Vertical timber battens lin-ing the balconies serve as a lightweightcounterpoint to the masonry volumes.

PPhhoottooss Dennis Gilbert.

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Richard Cottrell and SimonTucker discussC&V’s brick architecture with John Ramshaw.


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Over the last few years Cottrell &Vermeulen has madea name for itself with a series of masonry educationbuildings that are not only visually striking and techni-cally challenging, but also fit for purpose and cost-effective. “We didn’t use brick very much in our earlyprojects”, confesses founding partner Richard Cottrell,“But this has changed because of who we are workingfor and where we are building. For us, context andclient are always the starting point – we then find a

language and design that responds to the needs of thesite and brief. Importantly, brick has been the mostappropriate material for these projects.”Both Cottrell and director SimonTucker describe the

early stages of building design as a ‘collage of ideas’,which is gradually unified into something whole. “Weare not very polemical”, says Tucker. “There is nounderlying theory. Our approach tends to be intuitiveand discursive. The initial idea might come from

Richard’s or my sketchbook, but that’s just the begin-ning; it gradually gets developed and worked on by thewhole practice until it becomes something ‘other’.What’s lovely about brick is that it’s incredibly versatile.You can make completely different forms from thesame basic unit.”Comprising four major buildings to date, the prac-

tice’s ongoing work at Brentwood School in Essexdemonstrates the way in which it is able to transform

Cottrell &Vermeulen


AAbboovvee Structure, form and ornament areskillfully integrated at Brentwood School’ssixth-form centre and assembly hall (2011)using super-scaled filigree, diaper-patternedbrickwork (ph: Tom Cronin)AAbboovvee rriigghhtt The brick pattern employed onthe classroom block (2011) at BrentwoodSchool, Essex, has a ‘wallpaper‘ quality,wrapping the entire building irrespective ofother facade elements (ph: Tom Cronin).RRiigghhtt Richard Cottrell, co-founder ofCottrell & Vermeulen Architecture, anddirector Simon Tucker.

site-based influences and related preoccupations intopowerful organisational and material themes that addmeaning and a sense of unity to the campus.The use ofsuper-scaled, filigree, diaper-patterned brickwork onthe sixth-form centre and assembly hall, as well as anearby classroom block (both 2011) take their inspira-tion from the polychromatic masonry used on some ofthe older school buildings and an adjacent Victorianvicarage. Brickwork typically used historically at English


public schools, together with William Butterfield’s AllSaints Church in Margaret Street, London (1859) andtheTudor Hampton Court Palace, are among the widerinfluences incorporated into the design.“The diaper pattern on the classroom block has a

‘wallpaper‘ quality to it”, explains Tucker. “It wraps theentire volume, including the roof, and falls where itfalls, irrespective of the window openings and otherfenestration. The relief pattern employed on the sixth-form centre and assembly hall is more ornamental innature, respecting and following the building structure.It becomes a way to measure the building – everythingrelates to the size of a brick.”The direct geometrical relationship between struc-

ture, form and ornament proved highly challengingwhen it came to detailing the sixth-form centre andassembly hall. “We drew every brick and used Sketch-Up to explore the corners”, says Tucker. “It was aniterative process, andwhen it was wrong it was obviousand didn’t need further discussion. But when theproject was finished it looked like it was always meantto be; it looked effortless – the way it should.”Based around a generous loggia made from slender

tapering brick arches, the Bean Learning ResourceCentre (2015), also at Brentwood School is anothertechnically and geometrically challenging structure.The building’s arched motif is drawn from a nearbyarcade, but once again it is amplified and repeated untilit becomes something new and fresh. The scheme alsoexplores the notion of a language that is simultaneously

“It’s not a purist approach whereevery element has to expresswhat it’s doing. The architectureneeds to be more sophisticatedthan that.”


AAbboovvee//rriigghhtt The ground-floor loadbearing masonry arches on theBean Learning Resource Centre (2015) at Brentwood School are onlya single brick thick (phs: Anthony Coleman).OOppppoossiittee Brentwood School’s Cunliffe Building (2015) includes brickcorbelling and recessed masonry panels (ph: Anthony Coleman).

familiar and unfamiliar. Viewed from the lawn, thebuilding gives the impression of weight and solidity – aprerequisite given its function and the dimensions ofthe external space it occupies. However, upon closerinspection the arches reveal themselves to be only asingle brick thick, and the structure takes on a fine,lightweight appearance. “The ground-floor arches areessentially made from loadbearing brick with only asmall amount of joint reinforcement”, says Tucker.“Although they look equivalent, there is a concrete wallbehind the first-floor arches, so they only supportthemselves. It’s not a purist approach where every ele-ment has to express what it’s doing. The architectureneeds to be more sophisticated than that.”

Intended as a companion to the Bean LRC, Tucker

describes theCunliffe Building (2015) as an unashamedexercise in facade making. Among the masonry tech-niques employed are half-brick deep bays, corbellingon the gable walls, and inset panels of ceramic brick.“Wewanted the facade to have presence and a sense ofjoy, but not compete with its neighbours”, he explains.“Campus schools such as this often feel like small cites.Some buildings have a public aspect, such as the LRCand assembly hall, whereas others, such as the class-rooms, are more like background residential buildings.”As the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic School (2014)


and Notre Dame School (2013), both in Londondemonstrate, the practice is equally adept at deliveringhigh-quality brick projects with limited budgets.Resembling a flat-fronted Georgian terrace, SacredHeart’s principal street facade is articulated by a seriesof crenellated brick ‘zips’. “Victorian Board Schoolswere typically built in phases”, explains Cottrell, “Soyou would often see a missing bay and an exposedbrick key in anticipation of the next element. Like manyof our projects, the inspiration behind the design isquite idiosyncratic. It’s not a grand architectural vision;it’s about observing things and making them part ofwhat is interesting.”Colour is also used at Sacred Heart, adding depth

and legibility to the facades. Parallel banks of class-rooms lining the street elevation are differentiatedusing a red and grey/brown brick respectively. The lat-ter is also used to face the courtyard elevations, whilea cream-coloured brick signals the main entrance. Incommonwith all Cottrell &Vermeulen’s masonry proj-ects, colour-matched mortar is used throughout. Theintention is to focus attention on the building’s mass,


and hue, rather than the individual bricks and courses.The procurement environment within which Notre

Dame School was realised was such that the depths ofthe facade openings and the grain of the brickworkwere among the only things the practice had at its dis-posal, relates Tucker. Described as a ‘little tower’, thebuilding is wrapped in a skin of quarter-bond red brickwith apparently randomly-placed windows of differentsizes. “This allowed us to use quarter bond because itcosts the same as a conventional half-leaf stretcher,but it creates something quite different”, says Tucker.The new classroom block at Lyndhurst Primary

School in London (2015) also draws inspiration fromtraditional Board School buildings, with yellow LondonStock facades and red brick surrounds to some of thewindowopenings and corner conditions. Partly inspiredby Aldo Rossi’s Fagnano Olona elementary school inItaly (1976), a brick chimney serves as both a practicaland compositional element – uniting the old and newelements, as well contributing to the scheme’s civicquality. Brick-deep window reveals and diagonal cor-belling on the roofs add further visual interest, raising

the overall materiality of the architecture.Looking back, there can be little doubt that Cottrell

& Vermuelen’s school commissions have allowed thepractice to establish and develop its own highly originaland site-specific brick language. “We’ve never had abottom drawer where we pull out a scheme that wehave done before and repeat it”, saysTucker. “It may bea good business model, but its not why we do what wedo. Education work in particular has shown us thatevery project and every client is different. Each schoolis like a small citywith its own individual approach, pol-itics and personalities. Like us, school clients care aboutwhat they’re doing, so there is a meeting of mindswhen it comes to creating a place where somethinggood can happen. And if we can also create somethingbeautiful, then it’s a perfect outcome.”

AAbboovvee//lleefftt Lyndhurst Primary School in London (2015) is construcedfrom London Stock brick with red brick window surrounds anddiagonal corbelling on the roofs (phs: Anthony Coleman).OOppppoossiittee aabboovvee//bbeellooww rriigghhtt Crenellated brick ‘zips’ articulate themain street facade of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic School (2014)in London (ph: Anthony Coleman).OOppppoossiittee bbeellooww lleefftt London’s Notre Dame School (2013) is wrappedin quarter-bond red brick (ph: Tom Cronin).


AAbboovvee The Church of San Giovanni al Gatano inPisa (phs: Comune di Modena). More than 300 ofMuratori’s drawings, representing almost 200 proj-ects, have been donated to the library of PolettiModena by his heir Maria Vittoria Cattania Brandi.RRiigghhtt The ENPAS headquarters in Bolognaresponds to the street arcades and articulatedroof profiles of the medieval city (ph: CaterinaSalvador; Comune di Modena; axonometricdrawing by Carlotta Rigo).

Few architects come to give their nameto a cultural movement, but in the highlyfactional world of post-war Italian archi-tecture, the so-called Muratorian schoolof urban morphology and building typol-ogy came to represent a key shift awayfrom Modern Movement doctrine and astyle that was tainted by association withMussolini’s regime.Through his teachings, writings and

buildings, Saverio Muratori (1910-73)sought to re-engage architectural pro-duction with historical precedent andtraditions, and as such brickwork played asignificant role. Though trained by mod-ernist teachers, Muratori’s studies of theurban fabric of Rome and Venice led him

PPRREECCEEDDEENNTTHHIISSTTOORRIICC BBRRIICCKKWWOORRKK

to develop theories of architectural formthat were put into practice in a series ofaccomplished buildings that invoked his-torical precedent while clearly being oftheir time. Muratori’s many students andfollowers included Aldo Rossi and CarloAymonino, whose work built on his ideas.The church of San Giovanni al Gatano

in Pisa (1947) refers to the city’s celebrat-ed twelfth-century Baptistery in itscolumned screen and banded facade, butthis is set within a brick structure thatrecalls the vernacular buildings of theregion. The headquarters ENPAS inBologna (1952), meanwhile, is more akinto a medieval palazzo, with its ground-level arcade engaging with the street.

For Saverio Muratori, brickworkrepresented both a historical andemotional connection with Italianarchitectural and urban traditions.Ian Latham reports.

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The BDA’s Urban Regeneration Day, heldinArup’s London office on Friday 20May,focused on the continuing importanceand relevance of brick when it comes toreshaping the UK's towns and cities.Andrew Eagles, new CEO of the BDA,started proceedings by relating howmanufacturers had been pushing hard tomeet the rising demand for brick. Whilstacknowledging the need to build morehomes, he was mindful that people andplaces should be given proper considera-tion, rather than merely meeting targetsand quotas.Contractor Lee Marley, managing

director of Lee Marley Brickworkexplored the logistical and technicalchallenges of delivering high-qualitymasonry in the face of ever larger andmore complex urban regenerationschemes – a factor partly brought aboutby the growing popularity of brick.Marley also highlighted the importanceof early discussions with architects inrelation to brick specification, and thelabour opportunities regeneration proj-ects represent for local people.Tower Works in Leeds, by Jestico &

Whiles, was the focus of associate direc-tor Alex Gordon’s presentation. Themixed-use development, soon to starton site, forms part of the larger HolbeckUrban Village regeneration plan. It isskillfully woven around two listedindustrial buildings and three historicmasonry towers. Gordon demonstratedhow a local red brick is being used toconnect the scheme to its context andcreate powerful architectural forms thatpromote and enliven the public realm.Founder and chairmanof New London

Architecture (NLA) Peter Murray tracedthe evolution of vernacular housing inthe capital from theGreat Fire of Londonto formermayor Boris Johnson’s HousingDesign Guide. Projects by MaccreanorLavington, Sergison Bates, LifschutzDavidson Sandilands andAEMwere used

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The Brick Development Association’srecent Urban Regeneration Dayexamined the delivery ofhigh-quality places and spaces.

Rebuildingwith brick

AAbboovvee Planned around a public square, TowerWorks by Jestico & Whiles is a mixed-usedevelopment located on a former industrial sitein Leeds. Construction is due to complete in 2020.

to demonstrate organisational anddesign themes common to the latestgeneration of domestic brick architec-ture. Murray also considered the futuredirection of London housing under newmayor Sadiq Khan, and in relation towider social issues such as increasing lifeexpectancy and the proliferation ofdigital technology.Arup’s clay materials specialist Alexis

Harrison gave a lively and thought-provoking presentation on the changingperception and direction of brick designover the last 15 years. Innovative projectsby Frank Gehry, Grayson Perry and FAT,Eric Parry, Renzo Piano and Baukukhighlighted the design potential andadaptability of brick and faience. The

effect of recent technologies, such asphotogrammetry, 3D printing and CNCmachining, were also considered in rela-tion to the future direction of domesticmasonry architecture.Clear and concise guidance on urban

regeneration and brick housing designfrom a planning perspective was deliv-ered byAndrewTaylor, Chair of the RoyalTown Planning Institute and recentlyappointed head of planning at BarrattEastern Counties. Next, Joe Morris,co-founder of Duggan Morris Architects,gave a whistle-stop tour of three urbanregeneration projects currently beingundertaken by the practice. The architectmemorably described brick as a ‘secretweapon’ for creating a distinctive urban

response, and stressed the importance ofthe connection between the hand, mindand architectural model in developingmasonry projects and investigatingdetail design conditions.Last but not least Jacqueline Esimaje-

Heath, director of land and businessdevelopment at the East Thames Group– one of the largest providers of afford-able housing in east London – presenteda series of inspirational recent urbanregeneration schemes and discussedbrick’s enduring appeal for landlords anddevelopers alike.


The latest guidance document fromthe Brick Development Associationcovers good site practice andworkmanship.

The standard of site practice and work-manship in the course of constructionwill have the greatest influence on thequality of the finished brickwork. Highlevels of workmanship and site practiceshould result in durable brickwork of anatural and consistent appearancerequiring little or no maintenance withinits design life.The Brick Development Association’s

guidance note on good site practice andworkmanship is aimed at all members ofthe building team, including, site super-visors and bricklayers. Brick manufactur-ers have a vested interest in achieveingsuccessful brickwork and are able to offeradvice on all aspects of workmanshipand site practice.

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Getting itright on site

AAbboovvee lleefftt Mortar joints should be fully filled andthe practice of ‘tipping and tailing’ perpend jointsand the deep furrowing of bed joints should beavoided as this will affect the performance of thebrickwork and give rise to an increased risk ofwind driven rain penetration.AAbboovvee mmiiddddllee Detail section through cavity wall.During construction, ensure that the cavities arekept clean and do not allow mortar to drop downthe cavity and accumulate on wall ties, cavity trays,and lintels.AAbboovvee rriigghhtt Brickwork reference panels should beconstructed to a standard that can be maintainedby the bricklayers for the duration of the contract;bricks should be blended from a minimum ofthree packs concurrently with some overlapbetween deliveries where possible; cornersshould be constructed using a ‘racking back’technique and the practice of ‘toothing’ shouldbe avoided.OOppppoossiittee Royal Road housing developmentin London by Panter Hudspith Architects(ph: Morley von Sternberg).

Featuring colour photos and detaildrawings, the 16-page document refer-ences a number of established nationaland international building standards,including BS EN 771-1 Specification formasonry units, PAS 70 Guide to appear-ance and site measured dimensions andtolerance, and the NHBC Standards.Topics covered include ordering bricks,

site reference panels, delivery and stor-age, handling and blending, setting outand site tolerances, mortar joints,notes on bricklaying, and brickworkprotection. The document can bedownloaded free of charge from theBDA website under Design Guidance(www.brick.org.uk/ 2015/12/good-site-practice-workmanship/).

Avoid protrusions in the cavity.Snapped headers if required shouldbe accurately and cleanly cut

Insulation to be installed correctlyto avoid risk of rain penetration

Ensure that wall ties do not allowwater to cross the cavity

Brick specification, mortar mix and jointprofile to be correctly selected for theapplication and prevailing exposureconditions

Mortar droppings to be cleaned fromcavity trays taking care not todamage trays. 'Ropes' of twisted hessianabout 3m long may be positioned abovetrays and, periodically, carefully drawn outthrough coring holes

Minimum 50mm air spaceto be maintained

Weep holes every fourth cross joint

Clean mortar droppings from wallties and ensure that wall ties do notallow water to cross the cavity

Minimum 150mm betweenDPC and ground level

Leave shallow space at groundlevel for unavoidable mortardroppings

Suspend lath to minimise mortarfalling down cavity - remove andclean after every 6 courses


A Cambridge office building byGort Scott employs a rangeof masonry techniques to achievesurface expression and articulation.

51 Hills Road is an 880-square metreoffice building in Cambridge by GortScott. Replacing a former garage block,the L-shape development is said to havethe highest BREEAM rating of any build-ing in the city. The entrance is via acolonnade set within a courtyard. Amongthe scheme’s environmental features arenatural ventilation chimneys located onthe corners of the building. These drawfresh air across the floors, minimisingnoise pollution from the busy corner site.The facades are composed of two

types of brick: a dark mono-toned greyon the ground floor, and a locally-sourced warm grey on the upper floors.Precast concrete panels are also used onthe third floor and around the large

TTEECCHHNNIICCAALL

Cornercondition

ground-floor window openings. “Thedark and varied grey tone bricks werechosen to complement, though notmimic the surrounding buildings, whichinclude soot-covered Cambridge stockbricks and dark terracotta tiles with hintsof purple”, says director Jay Gort.The two types of brick are manipulat-

ed in a number of different ways tocreate a range of surface textures andemphasise specific features, withoutover complicating the design. Hit-and-miss brickwork is employed in front oftwo acoustically attenuated air-intakelouvre cupboards on the ground floor.Brick slips are adhered and mechanical-ly-fixed to the soffits of the cantileveredentrance and rear areas. Pistol bricks and

snapped headers are used on thewindowheads and chimneys respectively.“We used pre-cut standard bricks for

the chimney’s”, explains Gort. “A thirdwere cut in half, a third were cut 5mmoff-centre, and a third were cut 10mmoff-centre. They were laid randomly andplumb on the inside face. The staggeredcorners are achieved using a similarquantity of varied three-quarter bricks.Standard three-quarter bricks were usedto take the header bond up to a verticalmovement joint and then return it tostretcher bond.”The project also incorporates a num-

ber of special bird and bat box bricks,which were laid in stretcher bond.PPhhoottooss David Grandorge.

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AAbboovvee Detail plan, section and elevation ofground-floor hit-and-miss brickwork. Key:1 Staggered soldier course brick slips on concretelintel, 2 insulation behind lintel, 3 cavity closer,4 powder-coated aluminium louvre, 5 hit-and-missbrickwork to louvres and window, 6 solid coredoor, 7 actuated door, 8 composite aluminium/timber-framed window, 9 aluminium window cill,10 DPC flashed under window cill, 11 liquid-applied vertical tanking to concrete upstand,12 rigid insulation, 13 timber framed upstand,14 high-density polyethylene film reinforcing strip,15 protection board, 16 under-screed insulation,17 ground-floor slab, 18 high-strength geotextileand sodium bentonite pre-applied DPM,19 concrete binding, 20 pile cap, 21 tankingsystem, 22 sealing compound around piles,23 insulated timber frame wall, 24 foam acousticinsulation, 25 slimline acoustic louvre.RRiigghhtt Axonometric sketches of brick specials.OOppppoossiittee aabboovvee The bricks were laid by a localcontractor who has worked on numerousCambridge colleges.

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Prefabricated ‘woven’ brick panelsprovide solar protection and visualinterest on an office building inYork by Make Architects.

The Hiscox Building in York by MakeArchitects accommodates 500 employ-ees and is the insurer’s largest UK officeoutside London. Comprising four open-plan office floors connected by a centralfeature staircase, the 4,430-square-metre scheme includes a cafe, breakoutspaces and generous roof terrace.Externally, the design features two dis-tinct facades: a south-facing brickwork‘weave’ that provides solar shading and avisual shield to the adjacent residentialsite; and a north-facing glazed elevationthat addresses a new pedestrian routerunning through the development.The woven masonry facade is inspired

by York’s undulating city walls, as well asthe hay and wool market that existed on

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Northernpowerhouse

the site until the 1920s, writesMake. It isconceived as a series of brick-faced,precast concrete piers and spandrelsconstructed in sequence as posts andbeams. This allows the weight of thefacade to be transferred to the ground,with only lateral support imposed on theprimary structural frame.We worked closely with contractor

BAM and manufacturer Hurks to stan-dardise the panel types and reduce thewidth of the joints between the panels sothey match the mortar course. Plywoodformwork was constructed with 4mmsteps between brick courses tocreate the angle of the weave. Wholelong-format bricks were then placed intothe formwork. An initial pour of high-

strength concrete created the mortarcourse, eliminating the need for post-pour pointing and setting the bricks inposition. Cast-in fixing points and liftingeyes were then positioned prior to amass fill with concrete.The panels vary indepth from 200-400mm, depending onthe taper of the weave.Formed with brick specials, curving

precast concrete panels at the corners ofthe building are intended to soften theangular geometry of the weave. On site,the panels were lifted into place by craneand fixed back to primary concreteframe. Reinforcement dowels are used toconnect the panels to each other. Thefacade took 12 weeks to install.PPhhoottooss Make Architects.


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AAbboovvee Detail section through facade.BBeellooww Section; ground-floor plan; axonometricfacade drawing; masonry panel installation;plywood formwork.

THE CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES HAS BEEN EXTENDEDTO FRIDAY 24TH JUNE 2016

THE AWARDS TAKE PLACE AT HILTON PARK LANE, LONDONON THURSDAY 10TH NOVEMBER 2016

APPLY ONLINE OR DOWNLOAD THE ENTRY FORM

WWW.BRICK.ORG.UK

AND THE WINNER COULD BE...YOU?

EEEEST. 666619766EST. 1976