Last night, the 2017 Think Brick award winners were announced at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne. The awards showcase the most innovative and creative uses of clay bricks, concrete masonry and roof tiles in Australian contemporary architecture.

From hundreds of entrants, this year’s five category winners were awarded the top honours based on the imaginative, creative and innovative ways in which they used clay brick, concrete masonry and roof tiles in built projects.

“One of the main trends we noted in the entries was an increase in the use of brick in interiors, particularly as a way to unify indoor and outdoor spaces,” says Elizabeth McIntyre, CEO of Think Brick Australia. “Among the entries there was also a real sense of using brick to create a sense of grounded-ness and permanence.

“We also saw more entries for multi-residential housing, reflecting the increase of apartment dwelling in our inner city areas, plus more use of concrete masonry in residential and commercial interiors.”

The 2017 Think Brick Award category winners were:

Horbury Hunt Commercial Award
Barkers Road Townhouses by Kavellaris Urban Design

Barkers Road Townhouse by Kavellaris Urban Design – winner of the Horbury Hunt Commercial Award. Image courtesy Think Brick.

Horbury Hunt Residential Award
House Au Yeung by Tribe Studio Architects

House Au Yeung by Tribe Studio Architects – winner of the Horbury Hunt Residential Award. Photo by Katherine Lu.

Bruce Mackenzie Landscape Award
Crescent House by Deicke Richards

Crescent House by Deicke Richards – winner of the Bruce Mackenzie Landscape Award. Photo by Rese Rose Gates.

Kevin Borland Masonry Award
Perimeter House by MAKE Architecture

Perimeter House by MAKE Architecture – winner of the Kevin Borland Masonry Award. Photo by Peter Bennetts.

Robin Dods Roof Tile Excellence Award
Kempsey Crescent Head Surf Life Saving Club by Neeson Murcutt Architects

Kempsey Crescent Head Surf Life Saving Club by Neeson Murcutt Architects – winner of the Robin Dods Roof Tile Excellence Award. Photo by Brett Boardman.

Across the five categories, 21 finalists were selected with the above five winners each receiving a cash prize of $10,000 for demonstrating original and new designs in their particular category.

The winners were selected by a jury comprised Ben Green, Director of Tzannes, Debbie Ryan, founding owner of McBride Charles Ryan, Emma Williamson, director of Cox Architecture, Alexis and Murat Sanal, co-founders of SANALarc, Cameron Bruhn, editorial director of Architecture Media and Elizabeth McIntyre, CEO of Think Brick Australia.

See the list of finalists here.

Lead image: Barkers Road Townhouse by Kavellaris Urban Design – winner of the Horbury Hunt Commercial Award. Image courtesy Think Brick.

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See more work from two the winning studios, Tribe Studio Architects and MAKE Architecture.