Think Brick Award winners revealed

Above: Elias House by Harmer Architecture – Holly Waldron. Photo by Trevor Mein.

The 2016 Think Brick Award winners have been announced, with Freadman White, Iredale Pedersen Hook, Harmer Architecture, Turf Design Studio, and Genesin Studio all taking out prizes.

The Think Brick Awards have encouraged architects to rethink brick and deliver projects that recognise the contribution of architects, builders, bricklayers and manufacturers in this process.

The Hornbury Hunt Commercial Award was won by Genesin Studio – Ryan Genesin, for the Antica Pizzeria E Cucina, a modern Italian restaurant in heart of Adelaide. It is the second restaurant for Antica Owner Anthony Crea. “Inspiration was drawn from the owner’s Italian heritage from Napoli where the old gated streets, private piazzas and vaulted spaces are laid with brick and stone. The hard finishes were designed into the space with acoustically engineered ceilings to counter balance the sound reverberation in the space,” says the studio.

Antica Pizzeria E Cucina by Genesin Studio – Ryan Genesin. Photo by Brendan Homan.

The Hornbury Hunt Residential Award was won by Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects – Adrian Iredale for the Applecross House. “Our clients desired a building that would endure time, evoke a sense of permanence and a sense of already existing on the site. Brick was the natural choice that immediately met this requirement,” the architect says. On the edge of the Swan River in Perth, the home was built with a connection to the surrounding environment in mind. “The bricks mass is simultaneously heavy and light; one storey is hung from the upper level and the cranked columns on the east boundary. At a finer level brick patterning slips and slides continuing the sense of movement.”

The Applecross House by Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects – Adrian Iredale. Photo by Peter Bennetts.

The Kevin Borland Masonry Award was won by Freadman White – Ilana Freadman and Michael White for the Hoddle House – an alteration and addition to an existing 1930s brick dwelling with a rear 1970s addition. “Externally, the addition offers a first impression of solidity, reminiscent of the existing 1930s brick dwelling it is connected to. However, sheer curtaining coupled with variegated window heights and depths blurs this static formalism,” say the architects. “Whilst the street is textured with weatherboard, brick and stucco single dwellings and apartments, a common feature is the hipped roof. In this addition, the exterior roof form is hidden from view. It is not until one experiences the internal spaces of the addition that the angular forms of the hip roof type appear, in the form of dramatically raking ceilings.”

Hoddle House by Freadman White - Ilana Freadman and Michael White. Photo courtesy the architects.

Hoddle House by Freadman White – Ilana Freadman and Michael White. Photo by Jeremy Wright.

The Bruce Mackenzie Landscape Award was won by Turf Design Studio (with Jeppe Aagaard Andersen) – Mike Horne for Kensington Street, a vibrant new inner city destination bustling with cafes, restaurants, artist studios, new student housing, markets, and the reborn Clare Hotel. “A fine grained urban floor of brick was key to unify heritage buildings and new contemporary architecture, while making a great place for people,” say the studio. “Subtle variations in brick pattern were used to provide richness and detail while delineating property boundaries, pedestrian through-site links and significant building entrances.”

Kensington Street by Turf Design Studio (with Jeppe Aagaard Andersen) – Mike Horne. Photo by Nikki To.

The Robin Dodds Terracotta Roof Award was won by Harmer Architecture – Holly Waldron for the Elias House. The home is a small two-storey infill dwelling constructed in the backyard of an existing warehouse, situated in a narrow street in North Fitzroy. “The house is an expression of play between the natural elements of terracotta and timber. The two materials interact to form an uneven and textured surface wrapping around the exterior of the house. The use of terracotta roof tiles in the colours of Delta Sands and Slate Grey pick up on the colour tones present in the brickwork,” Harmer Architecture say.