Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the Brick Awards laud innovative projects featuring clay bricks and pavers. On a mission to demonstrate the versatility of the material across the building industry, the Brick Development Association awards its members for craftsmanship, design and skill.
Out of the 14 awards, Caruso St John’s Newport Street Gallery was the notable receiver of three, scooping the BDA Craftmanship, Best Public Building, and the Best Specialist Brickwork Contractor awards – the latter going to Grangewood Brickwork Specialists, who worked on not only Newport Street but also London’s Gagosian Gallery, together with TateHindle architects.
Designed by Hawkins\Brown, St John's Hill (phase one) won the Best Large Housing Development accolade for its use of Staffordshire smooth/glazed brick in red and orange, by Wienerberger.
Elsewhere in the UK, Best Outdoor Space went to Maggie’s Centre in Manchester by Foster + Partners, where Staffordshire Blue plain clay pavers, carpeted with plants, roll out from interior to patio. First prize for Innovative Use of Brick and Clay Products was awarded to Harvey Nichols in Birmingham by Virgile + Partners, who used Dudley Blue extruded brick slips to weave an interior backdrop feature.
Duggan Morris Architects picked up Best Refurbishment for its use of reclaimed bricks at New Loom House in East London, a converted wool mill originally built in the 1870s. The arched pavilion of the Brentwood School Learning Resource Centre in Essex, designed by Cottrell & Vermeulen and built with a distinct Ibstock brick in heritage red blend, nabbed the Best Education Building title.
The Gort Scott's Hills Road development in Cambridge won Best Commercial Building using a Coleford mixed antique brick
A series of housing gongs form a number of the remaining categories: DallasPierceQuintero’s Courtyard House won Best Individual Housing Development; Foundry Mews by Project Orange and Hindmans Yard by Foster Lomas Architects jointly received Best Small Housing Development; Hawkins\Brown scooped Best Large Housing Development for the first phase of its Peabody estate, St John’s Hill; and Best Large House Builder Award was awarded to Linden Homes in Gloucester.
Best Urban Regeneration project went to Allies and Morrison for its Block E West Hendon masterplan using a soft yet solid Cambridge cream brick from Wienerberger. Meanwhile, in Cambridge city, Best Commercial Building went to Gort Scott’s Hills Road project.
-
Viviane Sassen considers fine art, fashion photography and fragility in ItalyViviane Sassen’s exhibition, 'This Body Made of Stardus' at Collezione Maramotti, spans two decades off Sassen's career
-
Ghanaian cuisine has a story to tell at Washington, DC restaurant ElminaThe new restaurant is chef Eric Adjepong’s colourful ode to the recipes he grew up loving
-
Pedro y Juana's take on architecture: 'We want to level the playing field’Mexico City-based architects Padro y Juana bring their transdisciplinary, participatory approach to the Mexico pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025; find out more
-
A new London house delights in robust brutalist detailing and diffused lightLondon's House in a Walled Garden by Henley Halebrown was designed to dovetail in its historic context
-
A Sussex beach house boldly reimagines its seaside typologyA bold and uncompromising Sussex beach house reconfigures the vernacular to maximise coastal views but maintain privacy
-
This 19th-century Hampstead house has a raw concrete staircase at its heartThis Hampstead house, designed by Pinzauer and titled Maresfield Gardens, is a London home blending new design and traditional details
-
An octogenarian’s north London home is bold with utilitarian authenticityWoodbury residence is a north London home by Of Architecture, inspired by 20th-century design and rooted in functionality
-
What is DeafSpace and how can it enhance architecture for everyone?DeafSpace learnings can help create profoundly sense-centric architecture; why shouldn't groundbreaking designs also be inclusive?
-
The dream of the flat-pack home continues with this elegant modular cabin design from KotoThe Niwa modular cabin series by UK-based Koto architects offers a range of elegant retreats, designed for easy installation and a variety of uses
-
Are Derwent London's new lounges the future of workspace?Property developer Derwent London’s new lounges – created for tenants of its offices – work harder to promote community and connection for their users
-
Showing off its gargoyles and curves, The Gradel Quadrangles opens in OxfordThe Gradel Quadrangles, designed by David Kohn Architects, brings a touch of playfulness to Oxford through a modern interpretation of historical architecture
