· PDF filerecall local stone detailing called snecked rubble. Through the pattern and the use of two base colours of brick, the facades trans

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Perhaps more than any otherbuilding material, brick has atendency to get under the skin.Peter Wilson of Mnster-basedarchitect Bolles & Wilson epito-mises this lifelong relationship,recounting the practices explo-ration of bricks expressivepotential in a series of notablebuildings. Its an intriguing con-trast with the early modernists,including Mendelsohn andRietveld, who disguised brick-work beneath a skin of render.

Sarah Huelin AA Dipl

To find out more about the bricks or paversin featured projects, or to submit work, [email protected] or phone 020 7323 7030.

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4 NEWS

Projects in Aarhus and Chelmsford; FirstPerson Neil Gillespie of Reiach & Hall.

6 PROJECTSJeanne Dekkers, Lewandowski Willcox, Landolt & Brown, GHM Rock Townsend, Kister Scheithauer Gross, Metaphorm, Biq,Korth Tielens, Stephen Taylor Architects, Perring Architecture, Squire & Partners.

14 PROFILEPeter Wilson on the expressive brickworkof Bolles & Wilson.

20 PRECEDENTBrick beneath the skin: iconic projectsby Melnikov, Mendelsohn and Rietveld.

22 TECHNICALGlenn Howells Architects BrammalBuilding at the University of Birmingham.

Executive editor: Sarah Huelin AA Dipl t: 020 7323 7030 e: [email protected] Development Association, The Building Centre, 26 Store Street, London, WC1E 7BT

The BDA represents manufacturers of clay brick and pavers in the UK and Ireland andpromotes excellence in the architectural, structural and landscape applications of brickand pavers. The BDA provides practical, technical and aesthetic advice and informationthrough its website www.brick.org.uk, in its numerous publications and over the phone.

ISSN 0307-9325 Published by the BDA 2012 Editorial/design: Architecture Today plc

Blockleys Brick t +44 (0)1952 251933 www.blockleys.co.ukBovingdon Brickworks t +44 (0)1442 833176 www.bovingdonbricks.co.ukBroadmoor Brickworks t +44 (0)1594 822255 [email protected] Brick & Tile Co t +44 (0)1787 269 232 [email protected] Traditional Brick t +44 (0)1501 730671 www.caradale.co.ukCarlton Brick t +44 (0)1226 711521 www.carltonbrick.co.ukCharnwood Forest Brick t +44 (0)1509 503203 www.charnwoodforest.co.ukChartwell Brickworks t +44 (0)1732 463712 www.chartwellbrickworks.comColeford Brick & Tile t +44 (0)1594 822160 www.colefordbrick.co.ukDunton Brothers t +44 (0)1494 772111 www.duntonbros.co.ukFreshfield Lane Brickworks t +44 (0)1825 790350 www.freshfieldlane.co.ukFurness Brick & Tile Co t +44 (0)1229 462411 www.furnessbrick.comHanson UK t +44 (0)870 609 7092 www.hanson.com/ukHG Matthews t +44 (0)1494 758212 www.hgmatthews.comIbstock Brick t +44 (0)1530 261999 www.ibstock.co.ukKetley Brick t +44 (0)1384 78361 www.ketley-brick.co.ukLagan Brick t +353 (0)42 9667317 www.laganbrick.comMichelmersh Brick & Tile t +44 (0)1794 368506 www.michelmersh.co.ukAJ Mugridge t +44 (0)1952 586986 www.ajmugridge.co.ukNorthcot Brick t +44 (0)1386 700551 www.northcotbrick.co.ukOrmonde Brick t +353 (0)56 4441323 www.ormondebrick.iePhoenix Brick Company t +44 (0)1246 471576 www.bricksfromphoenix.co.ukTyrone Brick t +44 (0)28 8772 3421 www.tyrone-brick.comThe 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

ARCHITECTURETODAY

NEWS FIRST PERSON

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Aarhus housing goes back to brick

Danish practices Adept and Luplau & Poulsenhave won a design competition for a major harbour-side residential scheme in their home-town of Aarhus. Titled City in the Building, the12,000 square metre development challengesthe massive scale of the surrounding port byproposing a series of brick structures, rangingin height from three to eight storeys, andplanned around a landscaped courtyard. Sharedroof-top greenhouses and common areas arecombined with subtle changes in brick bond,colour, and depth to create a sense of commu-nity and ownership. Due to complete in 2013, the zero energy project will include greenroofs, solar panels and rainwater harvesting.

Chelmsford re-design gets go-ahead

Pollard Thomas Edwards Architects hasobtained planning permission to redevelop the former Anglia Ruskin University campus in the centre of Chelmsford, Essex. The 2.5 hectare scheme (right) for the GenesisHousing Association includes over 500 homes,8000- square metres of commercial and com-munity facilities, as well as the refurbishment ofseveral historic structures. Mixed-use retail andoffice buildings in a dark glazed brick framethe south side of Station Square, while also forming a curved gateway to the new urbanquarter. Planned around a series of publicopen spaces, the four-storey residential blocksare finished in a buff-coloured brick withchamfered reveals around the windows andbalconies. Red brick retail and commercialpremises complete the eastern side of the site,complementing the surrounding buildings.

Brick Awards 2012 launched

The Brick Development Association haslaunched this years Brick Awards. The criteriafor entry is that projects feature clay bricks orpavers made by BDA members (except for theWorldwide Brick Award). There are 16 awardssplit into three categories: housing, buildingand landscape, and technical and craft. Newfor 2012 is the Architects Choice Award for the shortlisted project that receives the most votes from registered architects and architectural students. There is also the BDASupreme Award for the overall winner. BobAllies of architect Allies & Morrison will chair the judging panel. The closing date for entries is 15 June. The awards will be presented at the Marriott Grosvenor SquareHotel in London on 13 November. Entryforms can be obtained from the BDA website,www.brick.org.uk/brick-awards-2012-entry-form, by emailing [email protected] or by calling 020 7323 7030.

Over the last few years we have been rediscov-ering the use of brick in our projects. In manyways, this re-engagement takes us back to themore innocent architectural times of the1960s when Scandinavian modernism was atouchstone for our newly-formed practice. In the works of Gunnar Asplund, Jrn Utzonand Arne Jacobsen the International Style wassoftened and enriched through the use of so-called natural materials with their texturaland contextual associations. The graphic rendering of a white universal architecturewas mellowed and humanised through materi-als such as brick, naturally expressed timber,copper and stone. The dynamic plans andsimple massing of contemporary design weremade relevant to a culture that remained con-nected to an idea of localism.

In these days of contractor-designed por-tions, prefabricated systems, work packages,and performance bonds, it is a real joy toreturn to making rather than assembling.Brick is defined by the act of making, it ismeasured by the human hand; its source andmanufacture are elemental and ancient.Architects are increasingly cut off from theircraft by the contracting business. In somesmall way working with brick reconnects us tomore considered and human times.

Our practice has recently completed threeprojects, as well as having two still in design,using bricks that are richly varied in colourand have wonderful haptic qualities. We arebecoming increasingly interested in materialsthat look better through time, rather thanmaterials that look their best on day one, butgradually lose their sheen thereafter.

Dundee Council administrative headquar-ters uses a brick that has the colour andappeal of a freshly-baked white loaf. The

Neil Gillespie of Reiach & Hall on the Edinburgh-based architects rediscovery of brick.

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buildings in-situ concrete structure, plasticand permanent, needed an envelope withqualities that matched the durability andsense of commitment in a future. In counter-point to the recent wave of school and hospital projects that adopt steel frames cladin a patchwork of proprietary systems eachas thin and as insubstantial as the next welooked to a more durable construction. Forthis civic building in a city core, we strove foran expression that evoked a sense of civilityand stillness with a certain nobility of propor-tion. The west-facing facades are deeply mod-elled, combining elements of brick, precastconcrete and glass. They attempt to reconcilea traditional context with the clarity and precision of a material-based modernity.

In the last few months we have completedtwo Further Education College buildings forForth Valley College. The first is located inAlloa on a demanding edge-of-town site. Thesecond is located on the broad carse of themeandering River Forth at Stirling. The Alloabuilding is tense, dynamically projectingbetween mature trees over a steep slope andopening up dramatic views to the Ochil Hillsto the north. Following the lead of the lan-guid path of the river, the Stirling building isrelaxed and expressed as an open, generousform. In contrast to the depth of the facadesat Dundee, both college buildings use brickas a thinly detailed durable skin that bothacknowledges the taut, economical plans andsimple forms, while adding texture and afamiliar surface.

Two smaller but extremely high profileprojects a Maggies Cancer Caring Centrein Lanarkshire, and a visitor centre for theNational Trust for Scotlands site of the Battle

of Bannockburn continue the explorationof brick facades. At Maggies, a perforatedbrick garden wall encloses a simple plan thatis also perforated through a series of innercourtyards. The brick walls to the gardenincorporate a complex pattern recalling theancient use of willow hurdles to enclose gardens. The Bannockburn br