Winter 2010

Jonathan Sergison on Mario Botta’s brick works

Peter Kulka’s Leopold-Hoesch-Museum extension

Jeroen Geurst on Lutyens’ Great War cemeteries

First Person: Cian Deegan of TAKA Architects

Bolles & Wilson’s Helmond Library

Structural masonry and the new EurocodesWINTER 2010

BRICK

BULLETIN

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The bigger pictureBoth Mario Botta, profiled inthis issue by Jonathan Sergison,and Edwin Lutyens, whoseGreat War cemeteries areanalysed by Jeroen Geurst,have produced monumentalbuildings. But both architectsemploy brick, often in combi-nation with other materials, tointroduce human scale. Notonly does this accentuate themonumental, but familaritywith brick can make buildingslegible and accessible too.Katherina Lewis

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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Contents4 NEWS

From Rainham to Sydney; First Person –Cian Deegan of TAKA Architects.

6 AWARDSAll the winners in the 2010 Brick Awards.

8 PROJECTSPeter Kulka in Düren, Bolles Wilson inHelmond, plus Bakers Architecten, Creo,A3GM, CZWG, Paul+O and John Simpson.

14 PROFILEJonathan Sergison meets Mario Botta.

18 PRECEDENTJeroen Geurst on Lutyens’ cemeteries.

22 DETAILJager Janssen’s brick-slip roof sections.

23 TECHNICALEurocodes and structural masonry design.

ContactsExecutive editor: Katherina Lewis 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 ©2010 Editorial/design: Architecture Today plc

FrontispieceHanneke-Dick house,Eelde, Holland, by JagerJanssen (ph: Rob ‘t Hart).

CoverCity Library, Helmond, by Bolles & Wilson (ph: Christian Richters).

Back coverSint BenedictusbergAbbey (1956-87), Vaals,Netherlands, designed by Dom Hans van der Laan(ph: David Grandorge).

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BRICK BULLETIN WINTER 2010

ARCHITECTURETODAY

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NEWS FIRST PERSON

Cian Deegan

We are interested in buildings that are ‘of’their condition, that communicate somethingabout the forces that brought them intobeing, the nature of their physical environ-ment and the culture in which they are constructed. We want to attempt to approachthe elusive beauty and aptness of vernacularbuildings that embody a culture. Although weunderstand that the complexity of the con-temporary situation has made the traditionalnotion of the vernacular redundant, webelieve that it is still critical that buildings connect with the culture and place in whichthey are constructed.

Dublin is largely a city of brick, and certainly houses and brickwork go hand-in-hand here – from the grand brickworkfacades of the Georgian townhouses to thesuburban semi’s that use a skin of brick ontheir frontage to communicate domesticity. If you ask a Dubliner what a house is made of, the reply would most probably be brick. When it came to designing our first project –the refurbishment of a Dublin Victorianhouse with a new mews in the rear garden fortwo generations of the same family – I cannotremember discussing alternatives to brick. Itwas as though the material selection had been pre-confirmed in our minds by our under-standing of the city.

We saw the new mews house as a youngerrelative of the Victorian house (in whose garden it was sited) and wanted to place it inboth the material and constructional contextof the older building. We decided to concep-tually separate the solid one-brick-thickFlemish bond wall of the Victorian structureinto two layers of half-brick-thick masonry andlocate the rooms of the mews between theselayers. The thinner leaves had a hereditarylink to the solid wall techniques used in theolder building, but also spoke of the

Maccreanor Lavington in Rainham

Maccreanor Lavington has obtained planningconsent for Rainham Library in East London. A red speckled brick has been chosen for theexterior, with glazed green bricks used to framethe entrances and flush-fitted display windows.

BDA modernism in brick lecture

The DOCOMOMO Spring series of lectures‘Modern Masters of Brick’ sponsored by theBDA starts on 11 January at 6.30pm in TheGallery, 70 Cowcross St, London EC1 6EJ(www.docomomo-uk.co.uk). Iain Boyd Whytewill speak on German expressionist architec-ture. Reservations: [email protected].

To infinity and beyond down under

Sydney-based practice Durbach BlockArchitects has won Think Brick Australia’sAbout Face ideas competition, aimed at push-ing the boundaries of brick design. Designedaround a figure-of-eight plan, with large slid-ing doors located at the junction of the twoloops, the Infinity House is intended to blurthe distinction between inside and outside,and create a close connection with the land-scape. Over time, climbing plants will coverthe walls and spill down from the roof terrace.The house can be divided into two units, withboth the small (75 square metres) and large(140 square metres) dwellings incorporatingseparate entrances and provate gardens.

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Keeping the faith in Emsworth

Due to start on site in the summer, EmsworthBaptist Church is a 550 square metre multi-purpose church hall in Hampshire byHaverstock Associates. The envelope compris-es a series of masonry gable walls that appearto have been carved from one solid element.A brick tower on the north-west corner of thesite establishes a dialogue with the historichigh street context. Carefully controlleddetails combined with a restrained pallette ofmaterials are intended to give the building ahomogenous identity. Window and door pen-etrations are set by strictly adhered-to datumlevels. The internal wall finish is paintedmasonry with surface washing luminairesused to emphasise the texture of the brick.

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contemporary condition of layered wall construction. The deconstructed bond alsohighlighted the individual brick within thewall, acknowledging the assembled nature of a brickwork wall.

As a theme of the family’s social rituals ranthrough both houses, certain rooms or objectstook on particular significance. Foremost wasthe new dining room in the Victorian housewhere the wider family come together forSunday dinner. As a signifier of the specialcharacter of this space, custom-made glazedbricks were built into the wall behind the dining table. The bricklayer was given 100identical bricks to lay in any combination hesaw fit. The aim was to express the mark andprocess of the maker, elevating the construc-tion itself to a position of appreciation.

Generally, we are influenced by what wesee when we travel; the extraordinary andeveryday things of another part of the world.It is a source of continuous inspiration to see how a particular environment, culture and technique can intertwine to producebuildings that communicate the essence ofthat place. The rural landscape aroundAhmedabad in north-west India is dotted withchimney stacks where the adjacent earth isdug up and fired into bricks. Within the cityitself, Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn both built brick buildings, Sarabhai House and theIndian Institute of Management respectively.Open to the air and open-ended, the spatialexperience of both these structures is unmis-takably Indian. But perhaps more striking

Cian Deegan and Alice Casey founded Dublin-based practice TAKA in 2006.

Above The Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad,north-west India, by Louis Kahn (ph: Kevin Walsh). Below TAKA’s first project combines the refurbishment of Victorian house in Dublin with the construction of a newdwelling in the rear garden (phs: Alice Clancy).

(to western eyes) is the ‘Indian-ness’ of themateriality. That this same material can feel athome both under the grey skies of Dublinand in the verdant humidity of India is both remarkable and logical. The beautifulnotion that brick is simply the earth fired,

gives it the potential for a deep connection toplace. Add to this an exceptional versatility,economy and durability, and it becomes clearwhy brick is able to accomplish the seeminglyparadoxical states of being timeless and cur-rent, universal yet specific.

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AWARDS

2010 Brick Awards winners

NORD Architecture’s Olympic substation at the Olympic Village in Stratford, London,was named the supreme winner at the 2010Brick Awards, held at the Marriott GrosvenorSquare Hotel in London on 3 November (1, Winchmore Brickwork, Ibstock Brick:Aldridge Himley Ebony Black). The project,which also won the best public building category, forms a key part of the Olympic’s utilities infrastructure and was designed withpermanency, weight and dignity in mind.Chaired by Bob Allies (Allies & Morrison),the jury comprised Joanna van Heyningen (van Heyningen & Haward), John Roberts(engineer), Peter Bonfield (BRE), NeilBeningfield (Neil Beningfield & Associates),Michael Hammett (brickwork consultant),and Andrew Stroud (The WorshipfulCompany of Tylers and Bricklayers). Itpraised the elegant simplicity of the schemeand the many ways in which brick was used.

Tim Ronalds Architects won the best education building category for SevenoaksSchool Performing Arts Centre in Kent (2, Skillbray, Coleford Brick & Tile:Gloucester Grey; Hanson Building Products:Capital Multi Facing). Exploiting the topog-raphy of its site, this skillfully composed andtechnically accomplished building uses brickto create a sense of warmth and solidity.

The best housing development award (1-5 units) went to Frobisher House inBushey, Hertfordshire, by Duggan MorrisArchitects (3, Freshfield Lane: Selected DarkFacings). The building is wrapped in ahomogenous brick skin, which extends tothe footpath and encompasses a garage andthe front wall.

Winner of the best housing developmentcategory (26 units or more) was St AndrewsBlock A (phase one) in Bromley-by-Bow, EastLondon, by Allies & Morrison (4, RapidBrickwork, Ibstock Brick: Staffordshire SlateBlue Smooth/Hardwick Minster Cream Blend;

Wienerberger: Nutcombe Multi Stock/SmeedDean London Stock). Described by thejudges as an outstanding building, four different brick colours are used to producediverse yet harmonious elevations. Deepreveals push the window ‘layer’ back, accentuating the masonry skin.

Proctor & Matthews won the best housing development award (6-25 units) for Station Grove in Wembley, north-westLondon (5, Westfields Construction,Wienerberger: Staffordshire Smooth BlueFacing Perf). Horizontal bands of blue andred brick modulate the facades and act as acounterpoint to the steel and glass balconies.

The best commercial building categorywas won by TP Bennett’s office building inStewartby, Bedfordshire (6, Irvine Whitlock,Hanson Building Products: WilnecoteBespoke Blend Amersham Red/AmershamRed Multi). Rated BREEAM ‘Excellent’, the project showcases not only the latest environmental technologies, but also the

diversity and richness of brick construction.Designed by Knox Bhavan Architects,

College Road in Dulwich Village, southLondon, won the best craftsmanship award (7, R Durtnell & Sons, Coleford Brick &Tile: Cotswold Buff). The six-bedroom, L-shaped dwelling incorporates sinuous, multi-curved facades, as well as saw-tooth panelsmade from a special saddleback brick.

Irvine Whitlock was the recipient of thespecialist brickwork contractor award forthree schemes: Cabot Circus in Bristol (8, Freshfield Lane: Light and Dark Facing;Ibstock Brick: Mercia Orange), St PancrasChambers, London (Charnwood Forest:Heritage Reds; Bulmer Brick & Tile: RedRubbers), and the Stewartby office buildingin Bedfordshire (Hanson Building Products:Wilnecote Bespoke Blend Amersham Red/Amersham Red Multi). The judges praisedthe contractor’s skill and consistency across awide range of projects.

The award for best outdoor space went to

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van Heyningen & Haward Architects andEdward Hutchison Landscape Architects for Corfield Court at St John’s College,Cambridge (9, Elmswell Contractors,Coleford Brick & Tile: Gloucester GreyHandmade Pavers). Imaginative spatialmoves combined with careful material choic-es have transformed an impenetrable cityblock into a beautiful and accessible place.

The International category was won byDonnelly Turpin Architects for RathminesSquare in Dublin, Ireland (10, John PaulConstruction, Ibstock Brick: West HoathlyMedium Multi Stock). The judges describedthis project as a handsome civic buildingwith elegant, well proportioned facades.

CF Møller Architects’ AP Møller Schoolin Schleswig, Germany, won the worldwidebrick award (11, Otto Wulff Bauunterneh-mung, Petersen Tegl: D70).

The volume house building award wentto Taylor Wimpey for Campbell Square inMilton Keynes (12, Ibstock Brick: Leicester

Multi Yellow Stock), Broad Lane in Bracknell(Ibstock Brick: Welbeck Village Blend/Minster Cream/Melton Antique/LeicesterAutumn Multi), and Ascot Priory in Leicester(Ibstock Brick: Leicester Autumn Multi).

Meticulously restored by The WhitworthCo-Partnership, Queen Anne’s Summer-house in Bedfordshire was the recipient ofthe refurbishment and renovation award (13, Simpson Brickwork Conservation,Bulmer Brick & Tile: Mild Clay Rubbers/BlueClay Rubbers). Bespoke bricks blend seam-lessly with the original masonry, while oldbricks were reused or repaired where possible.

Last but not least, Stoke MandevilleHospital in Buckinghamshire by MAAPArchitects won the innovative use of brick andclay category (14, MPG Facades, HansonBuilding Products: Glazed LockcladTerracotta Rain-screen Cladding). Thecladding, which has an opalescent pewterglaze, is demountable to allow for futuredevelopment of the building.

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PROJECTS

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Comprising two double-height galleries, PeterKulka Architektur’s extension to the Leopold-Hoesch Museum in Düren corresponds closely in scale and proportion to the originalneo-baroque building. Envisaged as an equal,self-confident ‘partner’, the new structure is asparse, abstact composition constructed frommasonry, steel and glass. Located at each endof the plan is a recessed, full-height windowlined in dark grey steel that separates the newbuilding from the old. The solidity and hue ofthe existing sandstone facades are comple-mented by slim 45mm high chalk-colouredbricks. Contrasting with the heavy masonryelements is a cantilevered, steel-clad bay window that appears to float over the streetbelow. A syphonic drainage system with down-pipes concealed inside the cavity walls meansthat the facades remain clean and uncluttered.

Shock of the new

Peter Kulka has completed a boldextension to the Leopold-HoeschMuseum in Düren, Germany.

Plans Ground floor plan and section. 1 Entrance, 2 reception, 3 exhibition, 4 courtyard/exhibition, 5 cafe, 6 meeting room, 7 administration, 8 store.Credits Architect: Peter Kulka Architektur; structuralengineer: Markus Straetmans; photos: Lukas Roth, Peter Hinschläger (existing front elevation).

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Located on a corner site in Utrecht’s museumquarter, the Black House by BakersArchitecten comprises six apartments (withsemi-underground parking) and a new studiofor the practice. The mixed-use nature of thedevelopment is made explicit by placing thedwellings in a solid volume above a glazedcommercial ‘podium’. Planned around aninternal courtyard, the apartments areaccessed via external walkways that double asoutdoor living spaces. Contrasting with the traditional red and orange brick tones of thesurrounding buildings, the upper levels of thestudio and shared circulation core are clad ina dark grey handmade brick. The brick wasoriginally developed in collaboration withPeter Zumthor for the Kolumba Museum inCologne. The apartments have a white ren-dered finish.

Corner condition

Credits Photos: Maarten Noordijk.

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Literary ambition

Boxing clever

Won in competition, A3GM Arquitectos’R1D housing project comprises 30 one- tofour-bedroom rental apartments in Burgos,northern Spain. A series of projecting‘boxes’ form semi-covered balconies, providesolar-shading and add visual interest. Thefifth floor is set back from the street facade inorder to create a communal terrace. Brick isused to wrap the street and end facades,while the rear courtyard elevation is clad withcementitious boards. In addition to openingwindows, natural ventilation is provided onthe street facade by perforations between thebricks, and on the courtyard side by slatsformed in cementitious cladding.

Urban oasis

Salt-glazed bricks in a mixed-usedevelopment designed by CZWG.

Designed by CZWG, Fortune Green Road is amixed-use development set on a triangular sitein north-west London. The ground floor com-prises commercial units and a gym, while thethree upper floors are given over to residentialapartments. A gated archway off FortuneGreen Road leads to a central courtyard fromwhich the apartments and underground carpark are accessed. The street facade employs ashallow concave curve, providing space foroutdoor seating and planting.

The romantic baroque air of the adjacentNorth London Cemetery and its over-wrought statuary suggested a dark brick as asuitable background, writes CZWG. The salt-glaze of the preferred brick transforms itsdark grey colour to a shiny silver sheenagainst a bright sky. The client was initiallyreluctant to approve this choice, until he sawa sample panel held aloft by a crane glintingin the sunlight.

The bricks are offset by the horizontal linesagainst thin surfaces of white concrete on thebalconies and around the ground floorentrance doors, while also complementingthe ‘floating’ patinated copper roofs. In addi-tion to the sweeping curves of the elevations,there are a number of corner conditions thatrequired tighter radiuses. Fortunately themanufacturer was able to make brick specialsidentical in finish to the regular stretchers.

Helmond City Library in Holland by Bolles &Wilson forms the first phase of a major inner-city retail development programme. Situatednext to Piet Blom’s iconic Tree Houses andTheatre (1975), the library’s main facade isCredits Photo: Jesus Grenada

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Facing brickworkSpec. F10/110

M ineral wool insulation

Stainless steel brick supportangle & bracketsSpec. F30/265

Dovetail slot ties & channelsSpec. F30/249

Plastic perpend weeps to bespaced evenly @ 900 c/cSpec. F30/132

DPC m echanically fixed &sealed to insulationSpec. F30/331

Pistol brick courseSpec. F10/113

Com pressible filler withpolysulphide bead to leadingface

Precast cladding by SpecialistSub-Contractor & to scheduleSpec. H42/110

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Rigid InsulationSpec. M 13/120

Screed with em bedded heatingpipes on polyethylene separatinglayerSpec. M 13/121

8mm Resilient layer turned upagainst walls for full depth rigidinsulationSpec. M 13/265

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Left Detail section through facade at first floor level.Credits Architect: CZWG Architects; structural engineer:MBOK; services engineer: JNBE; contractor: SagerConstruction; client: Sager House Hampstead; photos: Morley von Sternberg.

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external material in keeping with the charac-ter of the historic city centre. On the upperfloors, unusually thin (50mm) dark brownrough bricks with light recessed horizontalmortar joints and open vertical joints expressthe layered grain of the masonry. By con-trast, the ground floor base comprises flatbeige brick in three different heights (50,100 and 140mm), glued together. Ultra-thin

(3mm) mortar joints give the walls a mono-lithic appearance.

The internal spaces are conceived as anunfolding spatial sequence. Entry is via adouble-height hall on the street front and a more intimate cafe and ‘event corner’facing the adjacent Theatre Court.

carefully modulated to form a dialogue withits famous neighbour. Upper level projectionsor ‘ears’ carry the large-format bibliotheeksignage. The main facade has a horizontalemphasis to differentiate the ground retailarea from the glazed and set-back children’slibrary on the first floor and the masonry surface of the upper office level.

Brick was favoured as the principal Credits Phs: Christian Richters (above), Bas Gijselhart.

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Credits Photos: Andreas von Einsiedel.

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Classical tradition

The new undergraduate building at LadyMargaret Hall, Oxford, by John Simpson &Partners forms the first phase of a masterplanto provide undergraduate and graduateaccommodation, as well as teaching facilities,within the college’s existing grounds.

The L-shaped building combines publicspaces on the ground floor, including a din-ing room and lecture theatre, with individualstudent rooms on the first and second floors.Light red bricks complement the red brickused on the existing college buildings. Theyare not intended to be an exact match, butrather a variation that mediates between thebricks used on Raymond Erith’s buildingsand those by Blomfield and Gilbert-Scott.The sandcreased brick has a relatively highabsorbency which makes it particularly suit-able for solid wall construction. As with theexisting surrounding grade 2 listed buildings,the brick is laid in a Flemish bond.

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Making a splash

Located in the grounds of a Victorian countryhouse in Buckinghamshire, Paul+O Architects’525 square metre brick pool house comprisesa 15-metre swimming pool, gym, playroom,

A brick pool house by Paul+OArchitects is inspired by itsVictorian country house setting.

Beneath the pavement

Creo Architects has completed a brick-cladhydraulic lift enclosure for an undergroundcar park on Nørre Allé in Copenhagen. The60 square metre structure features a full-height glass wall that allows drivers to watchtheir cars descend into the subterraneanparking area. On first inspection, the red andcharcoal-grey coloured bricks appear typicalof the surrounding context. However, theyare in fact thinner and longer than traditional bricks, and are as such used toemphasise the horizontality of the design.

and a link corridor to the existing house.Constructed from red brick with a pitchedroof of handmade clay tiles, the project isconceived as a contemporary annex, whichis nevertheless sympathetic to the late-Victorian red-brick dwelling. The brickused is slimmer than a traditional Englishred brick, and a concealed gutter betweenthe masonry walls and clay tile roof gives theillusion of a continuous skin.

At the corners of the building, the brickwalls give way to 3.8 metre high glass windowsthat slide back into the cavity wall, thereby

dissolving the boundary between inside andout and opening up the pool to the garden.Strategically placed glazed openings relate tothe house and the adjacent greenhouses, andare positioned to maximise winter sun andheat retention, as well as prevent the poolfrom overheating in the summer.

The glazed link corridor provides accessto the carport, store and changing facilities.A full-length skylight washes the rear brickwall with natural light.

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In half a century of practice, Mario Bottahas produced a body of work characterisedby the manipulation of small elements – bricks and blocks – in the service of agreater whole, finds Jonathan Sergison.

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PROFILEo

A retrospective of Mario Botta’s work, currentlyshowing at the Museum of Modern Art in Rovereto,Italy, celebrates half a century in the practice of thisrestless and inquisitive architectural personality. ButBotta is younger than five decades of designing andbuilding might suggest. He started early, at a timewhen Ticino, the Swiss canton in which he grew up,was breaking new ground both in the theory of

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architecture and its application. Botta’s unquestion-able productivity makes it hard to adequately charac-terise the whole body of work, but building out of ele-ments with a small dimension, including brick, con-crete blocks and stone, has been a consistent theme.

A 1983 exhibition of Botta’s work at theArchitectural Association in London displayed blackand white photographs of house projects and axono-metric drawings, drawn with ink on tracing paper.The drawings were remarkable for the accuracy withwhich they recorded each of the blocks, drawn asindividual units. The discipline of this work wasapparent not only at the level of draughtsmanshipbut also of form-making, as all projects were con-cerned with the manipulation of geometry at smalland large scale. A house could be a cylinder, which

was then carved into, or appeared as if it has beeneroded. The square and circle were present in allthese projects and have remained so throughoutBotta’s career.

Botta seems comfortable working with a sense ofmaterial ‘poverty’. His interest in working with themanipulation of a small element at the scale of abrick or block (concrete or stone) has remained aconstant. The limited material palette arose, heexplains, in response to the projects’ circumstances,notably financial constraints. Yet, I think it is instruc-tive to look for a deeper underlying reason in Botta’sprofessional formation.

Born in Mendrisio in 1943, he undertook anapprenticeship in the Lugano studio of Carloni andCamenisch before going on to study at the art schoolin Milan and the Istituto Universitario di Architettura(IUAV) in Venice, where he was taught by CarloScarpa and Giuseppe Mazzariol. While studying inVenice in the late 1960s he had the opportunity towork for both Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn. If onetakes the sum of these different encounters and ped-agogic experiences, a good deal of Mario Botta’sposition can be explained. Botta himself candidlyacknowledges the many sources he has drawn upon,from architects to film-makers and artists.

Louis Kahn in particular seems to be one of thestrongest influences in Botta’s own work, much ofwhich celebrates the strong material presence thatbrickwork gives and its capacity to evoke a sense ofweight or mass. But Botta’s work is less structurally‘pure’ than Kahn’s – the buildings have a formalpurity that is not so obviously tectonic. It is the geom-etry that remains pure, rather than the means bywhich the manipulation of geometry is achieved.

An early project completed by Botta’s own office, asingle-family house overlooking Lago di Lugano, justoutside Riva San Vitale, was radical at the time of itscompletion, both in the way it positioned itself inrelation to topography and in terms of its organisa-tion. This building is unapologetically modern but,being made of concrete blocks, it establishes anequivalence with the local stone which can be seen asa simple yet powerful variation on the local vernacu-lar. Over time, it has become more enveloped bytrees, yet the encroaching wood does not diminishthe building’s strong physical presence, and its origi-nal intention has remained mercifully intact.

In Mendrisio itself, Botta’s presence is strongly felt.Like his old friend and fellow Ticinese architect LuigiSnozzi in Monte Carasso, here is an example of a sin-gle figure making a significant contribution to theurban character of a place. The red brick Piazzalealla Valle shopping centre is a complex urban work,organising a large area at the centre of the city.Further down the hill, Botta is currently completinga mixed-use building that will also house his architec-tural studio.

Left Piazzale alla Valle, Mendrisio, Switzerland (1998, ph: Enrico Cano). Below left Mario Botta (ph: Beat Pfandler).Right From top: Single-family house at Riva San Vitale, Switzerland (1973, ph:Alo Zanetta); Cymbalista Synagogue and Jewish Heritage Centre, Tel Aviv,Israel (1998, ph: Pino Musi); Church of Santo Volto, Turin, Italy (2006, ph:Enrico Cano); Façade for the parish church in Genestrerio, Ticino, Switzerland,with reinforced concrete bearing structure clad in blocks of split Verona stone(2003, ph: Enrico Cano).

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In nearby Genestrerio, Botta was invited to repairthe parish church whose front facade had deteriorat-ed. The solution adopted is typically bold, but eco-nomical in terms of the precision of the concept. Thenew facade, completed in 2003, has the presence ofmany of the incomplete Renaissance churchesencountered in Italy.

An implicit common dimension with the work ofTita Carloni and many other great Ticino architects– including Flora Ruchat-Roncati, Giancarlo Durisch,Livio Vacchini, Mario Campi and Aurelio Galfetti – isthe presence of a social form of architectural respon-sibility. All these practices have demonstrated a com-mitment to the infrastructural, territorial planningrole of architecture. They have not been satisfiedwith making buildings that simply address their ownset of concerns, disconnected from a bigger cultural

and social ambition. The architecture school thatBotta and Aurelio Galfetti helped establish inMendrisio in 1996 testifies to this architectural gen-erosity, and provides a tangible way of ensuring thatthe Swiss-Italian way of thinking about architecture isbroadened. Indeed, Botta still gives an enormousamount of time and energy to the students and theorganisation of the school.

Amongst the contributors to this Ticino tendency,Botta has had perhaps the greatest internationalrecognition, and unlike other significant Ticinesearchitects, Mario Botta has always operated in atruly global way. Another exploration of sacredarchitecture, the synagogue Botta designed for theUniversity of Tel Aviv in Israel (1998), is typical. The building sits among many remarkable buildings in a campus on the outskirts of the city,

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Top left Cathedral of the Resurrection, Evry, France (1995, ph: Pino Musi.) Above Scientific College, Città della Pieve, Italy (2000, ph: PM).Below left Single-family house in Ligornetto (1976, ph: Alo Zanetta). Below Mixed-use building and new Botta office, Mendrisio (2005-2011). Sketch by Mario Botta.

including a little-known project by Louis Kahn, the Wolfson School of Engineering. Botta’s buildingsatisfies two programmes, operating both as a synagogue and as a centre for Jewish culture. Itsorganisation as two volumes sitting on a plinthreflects this programmatic duality. What makes thisproject remarkable is the manner in which a squarein plan is transformed into a circle at the top of thetwo volumes.

But with the completion of his new studio inMendrisio, Botta seems to commit not just to Ticinobut to practice for many years to come. I expect hewill also remain committed to exploring the greatplastic capacity of the humble brick.

Jonathan Sergison is a partner in Sergison Bates Architects. He has taught at the AA, ETH in Zurich, EPF in Lausanne and is currently at the Accademia di Architettura in Mendrisio.

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Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944) designed 140 cemeteries in thecountryside of Flanders and northern France for soldierskilled in the First World War. Commissioned, together withothers by Reginald Blomfield and Herbert Baker, by theImperial Wargraves Commission, Lutyens’ cemeteries can beregarded as an imprint of the former battlefront on the mapof Europe. All of them were designed according to principlesestablished beforehand, based on the idea of a cathedral,church or chapel standing in the open, and include uniformgravestones, a War Stone and a Cross of Sacrifice. Yet the difference in size, alignment and provenance make them allunique variations on the themes in question.

The most memorable aspects are their meticulously chosen position in the landscape, the varied selection oftrees and other greenery, and the architecture of theentrance and shelter buildings. Although for the design of

Jeroen Geurst examines the role ofbrick in the celebrated memorials.18 • BB WINTER 10

PRECEDENT

Great War cemeteriesby Sir Edwin Lutyens

these buildings Lutyens’ first concepts show his distinct pref-erence for brick, widely different materials are found in therealised cemeteries. The basic material used throughout forthe headstones is white Portland stone. The Cross ofSacrifice, the War Stone and the other white elements aremade of different kinds of white limestone. Consequently, aclear uniformity in terms of colour and texture is apparentin the main elements of each cemetery. Apart from the localred brick, which Lutyens used most frequently, he appliedindigenous grey-brown cobblestones in combination withwhite stone. Local sandstone was used where it was available,in areas such as the Champagne district. Roofing materialswere usually red tiles, dark-grey slate or white natural stone.The extent of white stone used in the different buildingsvaries; in some, it is used to emphasise the basic form in themouldings around openings and along the edges of the

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buildings. In other cases the buildings are constructed com-pletely of stone, as if to suggest an absence of material. Thisabstraction of the form is emphasised by the play of light.

As a result, buildings with similar structures can appearentirely different on account of the variation in the materi-al. The shelter in Quéant Road Cemetery, for example, ismade of red brick and has a red-tiled roof and white mould-ing, whereas an essentially similar gatehouse in Brown’sCopse Cemetery is entirely built of white stone with a roof ofthe same material. The equally rustic sandstone buildings inthe Champagne region, where bands of red tiles – an Artsand Crafts detail – have been used in the front together withthe sandstone, are strikingly different. These strips of tileswere frequently used by Lutyens and are also found in theform of rays around the openings in garden shelters, andaround gateways in domestic perimeter walls.

Above/below Heilly Station Cemetery, Méricourt-l’Abbé. Designed by Lutyens withGeorge Goldsmith, the gatehouse is located in the corner of the site and configuredas an open cloister. Five arches are flanked by rectangular openings with details inwhite stone. From the opposite side, the unusual monopitch roof lends a barn-likeappearance between the flanking pavilions. Brick patterns enhance the floorscape.Far left Thiepval Anglo-French Cemetery and Memorial. The most celebrated ofLutyens’ cemeteries, Thiepval commemorates the 73,000 soldiers missing after theBattle of the Somme, whose names are inscribed around the sixteen bases. In con-trast to the human scale of other cemeteries, Thiepval assumes colossal form, withsuccessive rotated vaults, reminscent of Alberti’s San Andrea in Mantua, supportingthe central aisle which matches the dimensions of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

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Above/left Grévillers British Cemetery. Almost sym-metrical in plan, the central axis leads directly from theentrance building to the War Stone and the Cross ofSacrifice. The brick, white stone and tile gatehousederives from a Roman triumphal arch with a centralbrick vault and two flanking shelters and a taperingupper level to reinforce the perspective. Below left Houchin British Cemetery. Desiged byLutyens with John Truelove, Houchin incorporatesentrance steps in brick and stone with integral seating.Below Esquelbecq Military Cemetery. Fan pattern ofbrick tiles and stone in the shelter.

Unlike Herbert Baker, who also designed many cemeter-ies, Lutyens hardly ever used flint. The material is frequentlyemployed in France, particularly along the Normandy coast,but it is also a traditional material in parts of Britain – all themore reason for the sentimental Baker to use it in the ceme-teries. Lutyens, who strove for permanence in his monu-ments, sought a relationship with the timeless classical build-ings of Italy and Greece, which made flint a less obviousoption. Moreover, the combination of red brick and whitelimestone is found in northern France. Some farms in thecommune of Houchin, near Calais, that managed to avoiddestruction in the war were built in this combination of mate-rials, as was Lutyens’ stairway to the British cemetery nearby.

In some instances Lutyens paid particular attention to thefloor patterns. In the Memorial to the Missing of the Sommeat Thiepval, ingenious circular patterns of brick are incorpo-rated in the floors, like the millstones Lutyens and GertrudeJekyll employed in their garden designs.

A number of the original red bricks that Lutyens usedturned out to be overly porous and this caused problems atan early stage. Since the completion of the Thiepval monu-ment, for example, much of the brick has been replacedtwice with a harder industrial product. For the recent restora-tion the Commonwealth War Graves Commission tried to

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Above Chauny Communal Cemetery. Designed with Arthur Hutton and regarded asone of Lutyens’ finest cemeteries, Chauny incorporates a double shelter, in yellowrather than the usual red brick, that seems to emerge from the perimeter wall. Thesobre architecture is accentuated by a deep stone cornice and paired Doric columns.Left/below Quéant Road Cemetery, Buissy. The three-bay shelter, a variation of thetriumphal arch, aligns with lateral benches and features a domed stucco ceiling.Below left Brown’s Copse Cemetery, Roeux. A fine triumphal arch rendered entirelyin white stone.

Jeroen Geurst is a partner in The Hague-based architects Geurst & Schulze, and theauthor of the newly published guide Cemeteries of the Great War by Sir Edwin Lutyens(010 Publishers, 472pp, £30).

locate a similar red brick but the closure of the originalBelgian factory made this less than straightforward.

Visiting Lutyens’ war cemeteries for the new guidebook, itbecame clear that they should be considered not only asmonuments to brave soldiers, but also as exemplary architec-tural achievements. Working within shared guidelines tostrict financial constraints, there was scope for invention andvariety in making memorials of dignity and timelessness.

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DETAILo

Full masonry jacket Built on the footprint of a dilapidated farm-house in the centre of Eelde, the four-bed-room Hanendick House by Rotterdam-basedpractice Jager Janssen Architecten is designedto preserve the character of its village setting.The purity of the original concept – a brick volume penetrated by a rectangular box – isreinforced by extending the brick walls onto the sloping roof planes. Covered by metal

lattice panels, the gutters are concealed within the envelope. The junction betweenthe vertical and sloping masonry at verge levelis resolved using a traditional ‘braiding’ tech-nique, typical of the local area. The servicespaces, including the bathrooms, bicycle storeand piano teaching room, are located in thebrick volumes, while the rainscreen-clad boxcontains the living spaces.

The walls and roof of a house inEelde, Holland, by Jager Janssen are wrapped in a brick skin.

Detail gable elevation and external wall sectionsRoof construction (from outside to inside): 25mm brickslips (factory made from sawn vertical facade bricks)bonded to 9mm fibre cement board, two layers of19x45mm timber boards bonded with staggered joints,double waterproof membrane, 18mm plywood,225x75mm timber joists, 85mm void, 140mm mineralwool insulation, timber subframe, 12.5mm plasterboard.Wall construction (from outside to inside): 115mm brick,30mm cavity, 140mm mineral wool insulation, 100mmengineered clay block, plaster finish.Credits Photos: Rob 't Hart.

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TECHNICALo

EurocodesThe BDA’s Dr Ali Arasteh on the new standards for the design of masonry structures.

On 1 April 2010 all national standardsin the UK, that is all the BritishStandards, were replaced by their equiv-alent European standards. TheEuropean standards include ten struc-tural design codes (Eurocodes) madeup of 58 parts, product standards andtest methods which became available asENs in 2004. Each standard and designcode has a National Foreword, whereinformation about the replacedNational Standard is given, and aNational Annex where informationabout alternative values, country specif-ic data, alternative procedures (whenpermitted), and decisions on the appli-cation of informative annexes are given.

According to the EuropeanCommittee for Standardisation (CEN) aperiodic review of the standards willoccur at intervals not exceeding fiveyears. The five year review of all themasonry product standards and testmethods has now been completed andthe revised documents should becomeavailable during the first quarter of 2011.

All projects under the PublicProcurement Directive should bedesigned in accordance with theEurocodes. However, it is foreseen thatother methods than the Eurocodes maybe used if their relevance can bedemonstrated by the contractor. Thereis nothing to stop designers using theBritish Standards cited in the UKBuilding Regulations, but they shouldbe aware that continued use of the with-drawn British Standards could put themand their insurers at increased risk.

The aim of the Eurocodes and theHarmonised Product Standards is toremove potential barriers to trade with-in the European member states by providing a common approach to struc-tural design. In the UK, the suite of BS5628 design standards is superseded byBS EN 1996 – Design of masonry struc-tures, commonly referred to as EC6,which is in four parts:• BS EN 1996-1-1: General rules for

reinforced and unreinforced masonryreplacing BS 5628-1 and BS 5628-2.

• BS EN 1996-1-2: General rules –Structural fire design replacing BS5628-3 fire tables.

• BS EN 1996-2: Design considerations,selection of materials and executionof masonry, replacing parts of BS5628-3.

• BS EN 1996-3: Simplified calculationmethods for unreinforced masonrystructures.It is generally considered that the

depth to which BS EN 1996-2 addressesaspects of workmanship is not nearly asdetailed as the coverage given in BS5628-3. For this reason a new docu-ment, PD 6697, has been prepared bythe masonry code drafting committeeat the BSI, which is published as a Non-Contradictory ComplementaryInformation or NCCI. This documentincludes other design-related topicsthat are not covered in any of themasonry Eurocode parts.

As far as the simplified calculationmethods of BS EN 1996-3 are con-cerned it is intended to keep BS 8103-2:2004 Code of practice for masonry wallsfor housing and the ApprovedDocument A. Communities and LocalGovernment has stated that BuildingControl Bodies will need to be aware ofthe risk of designs inappropriately mixing new design standards based onthe BS ENs and withdrawn BS design standards.

New concepts in BS EN 1996-1-1 and product standards

Principles and application rulesClauses in the Eurocode parts are either principles or application rules.Principles are statements, definitionsand analytical models for which there isno alternative available or permitted.They are identified by (P) after theclause number. Application rules aregenerally recognised methods ofachieving the principles but alternativesare allowed.

Declared values and categoriesManufacturers of masonry units arerequired to declare certain characteris-tics/properties of their products. As faras the compressive strength is con-cerned masonry units are divided intotwo categories. Categories address production control measures; aCategory I unit has a declared compres-sive strength with a probability of failureto reach it not exceeding five per cent.Category II units are not intended tocomply with this, similar to UK ‘normal’and ‘special’ categories of production.

Normalised compressive strengthIn the UK compressive strengths ofclay units are declared as mean values.This declaration imposes a require-ment that any one unit taken from asample must have strength of at least80 per cent of the declared value. Thedeclared mean compressive strengthwill have to be converted to a nor-malised strength before they can beused in design. Normalisation is car-ried out by multiplying the declaredmean compressive strength by (i) aconditioning factor and (ii) a shapefactor. The conditioning factor repre-sents the curing regime that themasonry units are subjected to beforethe test, for example oven drying, and

Errata: Our apologies for the omission of three sym-bols from the calculation examples in the last issueof Brick Bulletin (Autumn 2010 p23), caused by a printing error. A corrected version is available atwww.brick.org.uk/_resources/Autumn 2010.pdf.Apologies also to Gerard Lynch for misspelling his name (p18).

the shape factor provides a correlationbetween various unit sizes and the reference cross-sectional size of100x100mm. Strengths of standard UKbricks are normalised by a multiplierof 0.85.

Groups Grouping of masonry units deals withthe geometry and form, for example,percentage of perforations and thick-ness of web (solid material betweenholes) and shell (material between ahole and face of masonry). The majori-ty of the UK clay masonry units areeither Group 1 or 2; the percentage ofholes in Group 1 is not more than 25and in Group 2 greater than 25 but notmore than 55.

WorkmanshipClass of execution determines the mate-rial safety factor to be used in design.There are five classes in EN 1996-1-1 butthe UK National Annex adopts twoclasses which are similar to UK ‘normal’and ‘special’ categories of construction.

Compressive strength of mortar isquoted as a 28-day strength value follow-ing the letter M, for example M6 meansa mortar with an expected 28-day com-pressive strength of 6N/mm2. TheNational Annex to BS EN 1996-1-1includes a table of recipes for mix constituents which are expected toachieve the stated mortar compressivestrength at 28 days.

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