In this example bricks have been to create a prominent spherical form that responds to the corner siting of this building. The bricks have been laid in a stretcher bond with raked joints. The most interesting feature of this brick work is the texture and colour. The bricks range in colour from a soft red to a burnt yellow and have a pronounced texture.
UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME
Bricks have been used in this building to produce a very solid form that contrasts a glass volume protruding from the roof. It is possible to see in the detail that the brick work extends two full course deep. To add to this sense of solidity of the form the mortar has been mixed in a colour close that of the bricks and laid with ironed joints.
Another interesting aspect of this brickwork is in the reliefs seen below the window lines. Where the majority of the building is laid in a stretch bond, these courses have been laid in a vertical garden wall bond.
NEW PUB BOURKE ST
I chose this example because it was a contemporary building borrowing art deco forms that had interested me in earlier posts. What differentiates this building from the originals is the use of steel beams as structural elements. It appears from a distance that the brickwork on the balcony extends right down to the base without any support. It is visible in the first detail that these balconies are actually being supported by a thin steel member. I found it quite interesting that the structural qualities of the bricks are being supplemented with more modern techniques.
The dark brick and mortar / stretcher bond combination is varied on the south side of the building where strips of half height bricks, 22 courses high are used to emphaise the horizontality of the ally facade.
FRINGE BAR PADDINGTON
I thought this example was interesting because bricks have been used as a stylistic driver of the interior renovation of the building. It is possible to see in the details that these pillars and walls are not actually brick. They have been have had bricks cut 1/4 deep glued to them and finished with a high contrast, flush mortar bond. The bricks have a very raw look and have been used to emulate a NY loft or factory aesthetic.
ENERGY AUSTRALIA BUILDING SURRY HILLS
This building appealed to me because of the dramatic use of brick colour and bonds to add interest to a very simple form. Both the black and white bricks have an unusually smooth texture that in combination with the raked joints and stacked bonds amplifies both the vertical and horizontal scale of the building.
From about the sixth course up the black bricks have been laid with their hollow side facing out. I assume this is to provide ventilation to the interior. These holes have been filled with a rough cement on the south east corner of the building to add privacy and create a visual feature.
ENERGY AUSTRALIA BUILDING GOLBURN ST
The bricks have been laid in a stretch bond with raked joints and a single course of soldier bond at the top of the wall. I think the interest in this use of bricks is the sense of volume achieved by butting the brickwork against the sloping tiled wall and also the unusual texture of the bricks. The bricks feel like they have been glazed. They have a very rich colour and are incredibly smooth to touch. It is possible to see the water marks from flashings under the sill.
I thought that it was also worth mentioning the brickwork in the low wall seen in the foreground of the longer image. These bricks are certainly glazed and reflect the bonds used in the wall proper but instead use a header course of double bullnose bricks to create a softer edge. An interesting element in this wall this the metal plate inserted in every 8th joint to discourage skateboarding of the wall.
INTERESTING ASIDE
I know this doesn't count but I came across these images from the Venice Architecture Biennale.
WYCHBURY TOWERS
I chose this building because of its incredibly flamboyant use of brickwork. Visible in these photos are stretch, flemish, herringbone and solider bonds. These variations are given a strong definition only by raked joints as the texture and colour of the bricks are consistent throughout the entire facade. The bricks are load bearing and the more extravagant bonds are used around the windows and doors where the structural loads are smaller. Squint bricks provide a dramatic, stepped-in doorway.
WAREHOUSE WOLLOMOOLLOO
The brickwork in this building is laid in a dutch bond with ironed joints. Features have been made of the window arches by using a different colour brick. The building is in very close proximity to the harbour and has sustained quite severe salt damage to much of the exterior. An interesting structural element of this building is the wall ties visible on the west facade that join this wall to to its opposite to provide grater stability.
KINGS CROSS APARTMENT
I found the detailing at the top of this building to be quite impressive. A range of decorative bonds exaggerated with corbeling of darker bricks crown the building and provide a relief from the stretch bond used throughout the facade. Bullnose bricks have been used around the windows. There is also quite a range of colour in the bricks used in this building.
BROADWAY BREWERY
I was attracted to this building because of the unusual way that the bricks were laid to provide a visual interest to a simple factory wall. Sitting on a stretcher course, courses four bricks long are zig-zag along the buildings facades. Although there have been two very different colours of brick used, there is very little variation of the tones within these two groups. The effect I think emphasises these two distinct fields of colour. The bricks have been laid in a stretch bond and have raked joints. They have quite a deep, bark-like texture. Where the light colour mortar blends into the lighter bricks it provides a sharp contrast to the darker walls.
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