The 2014 Think Brick Awards were announced on Friday 8 August at Crown Palladium in Melbourne. This annual awards program recognizes the creative use of brick and masonry by Australian architects and designers across a range of building types.
This year, twenty-five projects were chosen from 281 entries in five categories including a landscape award – which was this year renamed in honour of the eminent landscape architect Bruce Mackenzie. Also added this year was the Roof Tiles Excellence Award, a new category that recognizes design excellence in the use of concrete and terracotta roof tiles for both commercial and residential projects.
Each category winner receives a $10,000 cash prize, and the Grand Prix Award winner also receives a trip for two to the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale.
On the 2014 jury were: Neil Durbach (Durbach Block Jaggers), Emma Williamson (CODA Studio), Sheila O’Donnell and John Tuomey (O’Donnell + Tuomey, Ireland), Cameron Bruhn (Architecture Media) and Elizabeth McIntyre (Think Brick).
See winners from previous years at Think Brick awards.
2014 THINK BRICK AWARDS
COMMERCIAL AWARD
UNSW Kensington Colleges (NSW) by Bates Smart.
Image: Peter Bennetts
Horbury Hunt Commercial Award winner and Grand Prix winner
UNSW Kensington Colleges (NSW) – Bates Smart
Jury comment: This is a compelling suite of buildings that exploit the inherent qualities and innovative potential of brick to great effect. Designed and built with an enviable attention to detail this exemplary project sets a new benchmark for the student housing typology.
Horbury Hunt Commercial Award finalists
Dallas Brooks Community Primary School (Vic) – McBride Charles Ryan
Firbank Grammar Learning Hub (Vic) – ARM Architecture
Foley Park Amenities (NSW) – Stanic Harding
North Melbourne Townhouses (Vic) – Freadman White Architects
RESIDENTIAL AWARD
Aperture House (Qld) by Cox Rayner Architects and Twofold Studio.
Image: Christopher Frederick Jones
Horbury Hunt Residential Award winner
Aperture House (Qld) – Cox Rayner Architects and Twofold Studio
Jury comment: This humble worker’s cottage has been deftly extended. Aperture House is a home for a lifetime that celebrates the activities and beauty of daily life. A series of artful and finely crafted brick elements create spaces, edges and openings that are inherently adaptable and atmospheric.
Horbury Hunt Residential Award finalists
Alexandra Street House (Vic) – Robert Simeoni Architects
Fairbairn Rd (Vic) – Inglis Architects
Jewel House (Vic) – Karen Abernethy Architects
Skylight House (NSW) – Andrew Burges Architects
MASONRY AWARD
Clayfield House (Qld) by Richards and Spence.
Image: Alicia Taylor
Kevin Borland Masonry Award winner
Clayfield House (Qld) – Richards and Spence
Jury comment: At the Clayfield House concrete masonry is imbued with a luxurious quality, elevating its status. The subtle, textural contrasts and modular interplay gives the blockwork a warm glow and creates an elegant backdrop to daily life.
Kevin Borland Masonry Award finalists
Curlewis House (Vic) – NMBW Architecture Studio
Fairfield Hacienda (Vic) – MRTN Architects
Kew Residential Home (Vic) – Onoff Architecture Studio
Pyalong Police Station (Vic) – Judd Lysenko Marshall Architects
LANDSCAPE AWARD
Devonport Surf Life Saving Club Precinct (Tas) by Hansen Partnership.
Bruce Mackenzie Landscape Award winner
Devonport Surf Life Saving Club Precinct (Tas) – Hansen Partnership
Jury comment: This expansive concourse and plaza in Devonport are simultaneously organic and structured. The metaphoric waves in the paving pattern gather together all the public uses and structures, creating a new focus for the club and community.
Bruce Mackenzie Landscape Award finalists
Box Hill Gardens Multi Purpose Area (Vic) – ASPECT Studios + NMBW Architecture Studio
Cubo Rear Garden (Vic) – PHOOEY Architects collaborating with Simon Ellis Landscape Architects
Saint Kilda House (Vic) – Clare Cousins Architects
Wet N Wild Sydney (NSW) – Site Image Landscape Architects
ROOF TILING EXCELLENCE AWARD
A House with Tiles On It (NSW) by Welsh + Major Architects.
Image: Benjamin Hosking
Roof Tiling Excellence Award winner
A House with Tiles On It (NSW) – Welsh + Major Architects
Jury comment: The conceptual directness of this project belies its extraordinary sophistication. This is an innovative addition to a federation house that respects the qualities of the neighborhood and reenergizes the building for a new generation.
Roof Tiling Excellence Award finalists
Bristile Roofing Port Macquarie (NSW) – Lanfranchi Housing
Canterbury Residence (Vic) – Phillip Mannerheim Architect
Knox Grammar Great Hall (NSW) – Jones Sonter Architects
The Shingle House (Vic) – Clare Cousins Architects
