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As one of many few supplies that has stood the take a look at of time, brick holds a novel place in architectural historical past. From historical Mesopotamia to modern city structure, bricks have been a continuing, adapting to the wants and types of every period. In historical instances, bricks have been handmade from native clay, sun-dried and used to construct every little thing from humble houses to monumental buildings.
In modern structure, brick is commonly seen as a vernacular materials rooted in custom and regional id. It is a widespread false impression, nevertheless, since fashionable bricks are merchandise of subtle fabrication processes, providing a spread of finishes, strengths and ecological advantages.
Whereas conventional brickmaking was labor-intensive and depending on native sources, right this moment’s bricks could be mass-produced with exact specs, enhancing their efficiency and flexibility. This shift has allowed architects to push the boundaries of brick use, creating buildings which are each aesthetically distinctive and functionally superior.
These developments have enabled architects to honor conventional aesthetics and vernacular makes use of whereas embracing fashionable design improvements. This assortment explores six outstanding A+Award-winning initiatives that show the flexibility and potential of recent brick, remodeling this historical materials right into a cornerstone of up to date structure.
Twisted Brick Shell Idea Library
By HCCH Studio, Zhejiang, China
Jury Winner, twelfth Annual A+Awards, Structure +Brick 
This 32-foot (10-meter) diameter, 16-foot (5-meter-high) spiral shell construction makes use of pink bricks with an unconventional approach. As an alternative of conventional masonry, bricks are solid in-situ, positioned by perforated metal plates and crammed with high-strength concrete. This method creates a steady, double-curved floor that blurs the strains between inside and exterior areas.
Distinctive development strategies contain distributing bricks of 12 totally different widths alongside a UV grid to make sure radial continuity. This technique subverts standard brick development, leading to a pixelated, dynamic look. Encouraging guests to attach with nature, physique and thoughts, the library’s design and poetic integration with the panorama provide a transcendent expertise.
Selection Headquarters
By Plan Associates Co.,Ltd., Chiang Mai, Thailand
Well-liked Selection Winner, twelfth Annual A+Awards, Workplace – Low Rise (1-4 flooring)
Whereas it undoubtedly doesn’t look like it at first sight, the distinctive façade of this mission is made out of brick. Regionally sourced, these slender, hole bricks act as heat-protecting louvers. Fastidiously aligned alongside the constructing’s exterior, they create a dynamic and useful façade.
Mounted onto a metal framework, the hole bricks serve each as shading gadgets and aesthetic components. Organized in a sample, they supply pure air flow whereas shielding the inside from direct daylight. This system improves vitality effectivity and provides the constructing a particular visible id.
By integrating conventional supplies with fashionable engineering, the design respects the area’s cultural heritage whereas embracing modern structure. This method demonstrates how vernacular supplies could be tailored to satisfy fashionable sustainability and design requirements.
Canvas Home
By PARTISANS, Toronto, Canada
Jury Winner, twelfth Annual A+Awards, Structure +Façades
Canvas Home stands out in its Georgian neighborhood with a novel, undulating brick façade. The designers used a monochromatic brick palette and improvised corbel variations, making a dynamic, sculptural look that contrasts with the encompassing symmetrical houses. Impressed by Larry Poons’ visible results, the approach makes use of a repetitive bond sample of 5 bricks. This achieves a constant type that highlights brick’s potential for contemporary creative expression whereas sustaining its conventional look.
Functioning as each a residence and an artwork gallery, the home options curved partitions that combine with ceilings and fixtures. Mild and shadow play throughout the façade, which swells to type overhangs and recedes to permit skylights, reflecting the consumer’s theater background and sustaining conventional grace with out conforming to traditional requirements.
The Grand Mulberry
By MA | Morris Adjmi Architects, New York Metropolis, New York
Well-liked Selection Winner, twelfth Annual A+Awards, Structure +Façades
Drawing inspiration from historic Italianate tenements, The Grand Mulberry makes use of custom-profiled bricks to reference its heritage. The tripartite façade options conventional banding on the base, pediment home windows within the center and arched home windows with a cornice on high. Quoining particulars additional outline the construction.
Whereas the façade sample is conventional, the applying of the hand-molded domed bricks could be very fashionable — every brick was rigorously positioned inside the double-stacked working bond coursing to current the phantasm of an Italianate façade.
KOLBADI HOUSE
By L.E.D Architects, Garmsar, Iran
Kolbadi Home showcases one more modern brick facade. Solely this time, it’s impressed by conventional Iranian desert structure.|
Prefabricated metal grids place bricks with exact spacing, making a textured floor impressed by historic designs. The grids can rework into clear meshes in entrance of home windows, seamlessly mixing strong and open areas. This technique enhances visible attraction whereas making certain pure air flow and lighting, sustaining the performance of a standard central courtyard.
Using regionally sourced bricks and adaptable development strategies, the design honors regional heritage whereas assembly fashionable constructing wants, demonstrating the potential of conventional supplies for modern purposes.
Bricks in Frequent
By AART, Copenhagen, Denmark
Do you know that superior brick know-how can reduce carbon emissions by as much as 75%? “Bricks in Frequent,” a pavilion on the UIA World Congress of Architects 2023 in Copenhagen, demonstrates this potential by means of its design. The pavilion options three intersecting arches, every representing a unique method to sustainable brick manufacturing.
The smallest arch is fabricated from conventional bricks, that are fairly energy-intensive to provide. Subsequent, you encounter the medium arch, crafted from the most recent climate-friendly bricks. These bricks reduce carbon emissions by 50%, exhibiting important progress. However essentially the most formidable is the biggest arch, designed to realize a outstanding 75% discount in carbon emissions.
By way of this design, “Bricks in Frequent” illustrates the huge potential of brick as a sustainable constructing materials, serving as a robust reminder of how modern approaches to conventional supplies can drive us in direction of a greener future.
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