Beautify Your Home's Exterior With Bold Brickwork
Ordinary brick can do extraordinary things for the look of your home, as these 8 stunning examples illustrate
Rebecca Gross
9 October 2017
Design writer and historian. I write about contemporary architecture and design, and I study cultural history through the lens of architecture, design and visual culture. I have a Masters in the History of Decorative Arts and Design from Parsons The New School for Design, New York. My latest book is called "Ornament is not a crime: Contemporary Interiors with a postmodern twist."
Design writer and historian. I write about contemporary architecture and design,... More
Brick is one of the most basic building materials, and has been used in Australian architecture since the country’s earliest days. But while the material itself may be fairly ordinary, the effects created with brick can be anything but, adding texture, colour, contrast, pattern, rhythm and light effects to a building.
If you’re considering a brick facade, these examples will give you an idea of just what’s possible.
If you’re considering a brick facade, these examples will give you an idea of just what’s possible.
1. Colour and contrast
House of Bricks, by Victorian architecture practice Jolson, is a contemporary reinterpretation of warehouse living while drawing from the local. Brick is central to the aesthetic of most warehouses, original or converted, and red brick is characteristic of many 20th-century suburban Australian streets.
House of Bricks is comprised of red recycled bricks with cream highlights. It is laid in a ‘stretcher bond’ pattern, in which every row is offset half a brick from the row below. However, the bricks are also offset vertically so that every fourth brick is set slightly forward from the one next to it, creating contrast and texture.
House of Bricks, by Victorian architecture practice Jolson, is a contemporary reinterpretation of warehouse living while drawing from the local. Brick is central to the aesthetic of most warehouses, original or converted, and red brick is characteristic of many 20th-century suburban Australian streets.
House of Bricks is comprised of red recycled bricks with cream highlights. It is laid in a ‘stretcher bond’ pattern, in which every row is offset half a brick from the row below. However, the bricks are also offset vertically so that every fourth brick is set slightly forward from the one next to it, creating contrast and texture.
The offset brickwork continues inside the entrance and throughout the home, and forms a richly textured backdrop to the interior spaces.
“The architecture and interior design has been carefully considered to explore texture and colour,” says architect Stephen Jolson. “Inspired by our clients’ love of travel, the exposed, patterned brickwork draws reference from woven rugs and kilims.”
“The architecture and interior design has been carefully considered to explore texture and colour,” says architect Stephen Jolson. “Inspired by our clients’ love of travel, the exposed, patterned brickwork draws reference from woven rugs and kilims.”
2. A play of light
Jackson Clements Burrows Architects looked to the heritage neighbours of this house for inspiration. Each was constructed with red brick and built to the street boundary, so the JCBA design team did the same.
Lighten and Brighten Your Home With Glass Bricks
Jackson Clements Burrows Architects looked to the heritage neighbours of this house for inspiration. Each was constructed with red brick and built to the street boundary, so the JCBA design team did the same.
Lighten and Brighten Your Home With Glass Bricks
The brick wall along the southern boundary consists of three sections of brickwork laid in two different patterns. The middle section is ‘Flemish bond’, in which the long side (stretcher) and short end (header) are alternated along each row and offset from the one below. ‘Hit-and-miss’ brickwork is used at each end of the facade – one facing a living area at the front and another enclosing a balcony at the rear.
The hit-and-miss pattern, which has a gap instead of the header of the brick, visually lightens the brick facade, and allows natural light to filter into the home during the day while a golden glow is emitted at night.
“In many ways this house is about light… and the wall on the southern boundary is the most striking example of the creative use of light,” says Graham Burrows. “This wall is substantially perforated to allow the house to exude an ethereal glow after dark.”
“In many ways this house is about light… and the wall on the southern boundary is the most striking example of the creative use of light,” says Graham Burrows. “This wall is substantially perforated to allow the house to exude an ethereal glow after dark.”
3. Hit and miss
In this Turramurra home, Steele Associates has used a hit-and-miss pattern to create a structural wall that also provides a screening and textured effect.
Additional texture is created with a bagged brick wall (to the left) that edges the property. Bagging is the application of a mixture to smooth a brick wall, while not concealing the irregularity and texture of the bricks.
A Guide to Bagging Brick Walls
In this Turramurra home, Steele Associates has used a hit-and-miss pattern to create a structural wall that also provides a screening and textured effect.
Additional texture is created with a bagged brick wall (to the left) that edges the property. Bagging is the application of a mixture to smooth a brick wall, while not concealing the irregularity and texture of the bricks.
A Guide to Bagging Brick Walls
From the inside, the hit-and-miss brick wall provides a decorative effect, while still controlling sunlight and offering shade.
4. Texture and tactility
This contemporary extension to an Edwardian home has been designed to resolve its poor orientation, ventilation and connection to its surroundings. Architects Robert Nichol & sons created an extension with clean geometric forms that are visible only from the side street, so that the existing streetscape would remain intact.
The use of brick on the front wall is consistent with the period home’s facade. The front wall is laid in a stretcher bond pattern with a square section of Flemish bond, where the header projects for an interesting textured effect.
This contemporary extension to an Edwardian home has been designed to resolve its poor orientation, ventilation and connection to its surroundings. Architects Robert Nichol & sons created an extension with clean geometric forms that are visible only from the side street, so that the existing streetscape would remain intact.
The use of brick on the front wall is consistent with the period home’s facade. The front wall is laid in a stretcher bond pattern with a square section of Flemish bond, where the header projects for an interesting textured effect.
5. Off-white and bright
Stewart House by Chenchow Little is located in Sydney’s Palm Beach within a bushfire ‘Flame Zone’. The bushfire code requirements necessitated the use of non-combustible building materials, and the owners wanted a white house without the maintenance of painted render.
The walls of the house and pool are constructed with off-white brick laid in a flush-finished, light-coloured mortar.
Stewart House by Chenchow Little is located in Sydney’s Palm Beach within a bushfire ‘Flame Zone’. The bushfire code requirements necessitated the use of non-combustible building materials, and the owners wanted a white house without the maintenance of painted render.
The walls of the house and pool are constructed with off-white brick laid in a flush-finished, light-coloured mortar.
Hit-and-miss screening around the external courtyards and terraces obstructs the view from neighbours, while allowing light and air to flow through.
“The off-white volumes of the dwelling and swimming pool stand in contrast to the surrounding natural environment, appearing as a series of abstract objects emerging from the landscape,” the architecture practice describes.
“The off-white volumes of the dwelling and swimming pool stand in contrast to the surrounding natural environment, appearing as a series of abstract objects emerging from the landscape,” the architecture practice describes.
6. Free and flowing
The husband and wife architect and designer of this extension to an 1890s timber cottage took an original quarter-bond brick fireplace as inspiration for its starting point.
Jayson and Melissa Blight of Blight Rayner and Twofold Studio, respectively, used brickwork to define boundaries and social spaces, and to create interesting displays of light and shadow.
Browse stunning Australian exteriors
The husband and wife architect and designer of this extension to an 1890s timber cottage took an original quarter-bond brick fireplace as inspiration for its starting point.
Jayson and Melissa Blight of Blight Rayner and Twofold Studio, respectively, used brickwork to define boundaries and social spaces, and to create interesting displays of light and shadow.
Browse stunning Australian exteriors
Sections of the walls are a variation of ‘English bond’ with alternating courses of stretchers and headers, and ‘English garden bond’ with three rows of stretchers to one row of headers.
Jayson describes other sections of the brick walls as “deconstructed English bond,” with hit-and-miss brickwork and open perpends (slim vertical gaps between bricks).
Jayson describes other sections of the brick walls as “deconstructed English bond,” with hit-and-miss brickwork and open perpends (slim vertical gaps between bricks).
The brickwork is also used to wrap and fold a variety of framed vistas, nooks, ledges, plinths and floor surfaces to create free and flowing functional spaces and transitions.
7. Shifting shadows
Little Brick Studio by MAKE Architecture is an addition to a Victorian-era timber cottage for a family with two teenage boys. Housing a multi-purpose studio above a garage, the building’s white brick references the heritage brickwork of the area, while making its own contribution to the streetscape.
Little Brick Studio by MAKE Architecture is an addition to a Victorian-era timber cottage for a family with two teenage boys. Housing a multi-purpose studio above a garage, the building’s white brick references the heritage brickwork of the area, while making its own contribution to the streetscape.
The facade is composed of a checkerboard of brick headers. It has alternating and offset courses of stretchers and headers, and every second header projects from the wall to create texture and shifting shadows across the surface.
8. Curves and checkers
Preston House by Brett Tuer Architect similarly uses a checkerboard pattern with projecting headers for the front of this inter-war Melbourne house. However, the bricks are not offset; instead stretchers and headers line up vertically. Gently curved walls contribute to its Art-Deco appearance.
Preston House by Brett Tuer Architect similarly uses a checkerboard pattern with projecting headers for the front of this inter-war Melbourne house. However, the bricks are not offset; instead stretchers and headers line up vertically. Gently curved walls contribute to its Art-Deco appearance.
The house is built with clinker bricks, which are bricks that are partially vitrified or over-burned in the kiln. They add a warm, tactile feel to the facade.
Tell us
Which facade is your favourite? Tell us in the Comments section below. And don’t forget to like, share or bookmark this story. Join the conversation.
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Browse more architecture stories
Tell us
Which facade is your favourite? Tell us in the Comments section below. And don’t forget to like, share or bookmark this story. Join the conversation.
More
Browse more architecture stories
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Louis Kahn
I was never a big fan of hit and miss brickwork until the completion of a building round the corner. It reminds me of the old EDP computer punch cards back in the 80’s. It’s a building that makes me smile. A few years on and it still looks sharp.
Wow, the innovative use of bricks in all these examples is amazing! I never realised how versatile and decorative bricks could be. Stunning!