Lasting impression

For centuries, bricks have been a favoured building material but this doesn't mean they have to be used in a traditional fashion, as this project shows.

This house, in Sydney's Nelson's Ridge estate, features contemporary architecture defined by the use of Escura Smooth Face bricks from Boral Bricks.

Louise Beiler, design co-ordinator for the estate developer Delfin Lend Lease, says the company wanted houses in the development to feature face bricks.

"We needed to use a combination of materials and we determined that bricks with hard, square edges and strong, solid colours achieved a look similar to rendered ones, but with the benefit of adding texture," she says.

"We chose to include Escura Smooth Face bricks in the approved material list to builders as they met the brief for sharp lines and strong colours. These bricks are also consistently uniform in shape, and they are exposure grade, which makes them well suited to coastal locations."

Delfin Lend Lease supplied the list of approved bricks to Anne McCarthy, senior interior designer for CPG Australia, who specified the bricks used on the Bellevale homes in the Nelson's Ridge display.

McCarthy says she chose the Escura Smooth Face in Brown for a number of reasons.

"Firstly, the brick had to be exposure grade, as there is a high saline content in the soil," she says. "Secondly, the house is characterised by interesting lines, with many angles and square edges, and I wanted a brick that would reflect that. Boral's Smooth Face bricks are renowned for being consistently smooth and square, which fitted the requirement perfectly."

McCarthy says she also wanted a contrasting colour, but didn't want traditional earthy terracotta and red tones.

"Escura Brown was the perfect choice to offset the sharpness of the white render and the soft green shade of the weatherboards."

For further information, contact Boral Bricks, phone 13 30 35, or visit the website: www.boral.com.au.

Story by: Trendsideas