Think Brick Awards honour creative use of bricks, blocks, pavers and tiles as preeminent building materials – 2022 showcase announced
Think Brick Australia held its annual Awards overnight, with the 2022 showcase, ‘A time to build, a time to grow’ featuring sensitive and elegant work that celebrated clean lines, sustainable design and innovative craftsmanship in brick, block and paving and tiles.
The six outstanding category winners were announced from 150 nominees at the black-tie awards event on Thursday in Melbourne. Elizabeth McIntyre, Group CEO of Think Brick Australia, Concrete Masonry Association of Australia (CMAA) and Australian Roofing Tile Association (ARTA) said this year’s awards saw architects merging contemporary designs with a strong understanding of Australia’s heritage with bricks, blocks, pavers and tiles.
“The 2022 Awards have been influenced by the return of brick in a singular form, and the return of terracotta tiles in an epic execution,” Ms McIntyre said.
“We’ve seen some remarkable projects emerge over the 16 years of the Think Brick Awards. This year it was wonderful to see projects celebrate the tradition of masonry, alongside contemporary use of tones and textures that allowed the materials to speak for themselves. We loved the hit and miss brick features, textured and curved facades, tiled roofs curving into walls and custom colours executed seamlessly.
“The theme for the 2022 Awards reflects the inherent resilience of our pre-eminent building materials and references the ability of the dedicated project teams who nurture endless creative solutions – it’s been particularly exciting to see around 50% of this year’s entries were from first-time entrants.”
A prize of $10,000 was awarded to each of six category winners:
Jury statement: “A stunning project with a high consideration for permeability and detailing. Joyce Chapel Bridge is a wonderful expression of how masonry can co-exist with the landscape environment and embrace it."
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Jury statement: "Kiara College really celebrates red brick… The building is complemented beautifully by white curved brick, which takes you on a journey to the beautiful landscaping of the grounds."
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Jury Statement - "A great example of simple form, minimal detail, beautifully curated texture and how you can bring these together. Brick is the hero here and the architects have mastered this with a beautiful, almost monolithic structure."
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Jury Statement- "A unanimous winner. House at Flat Rock demonstrates a sophisticated use of material and form, bringing the landscape into the centre of the space. The use of masonry is so delicate and makes such a heavy material seem soft."
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Jury Statement- "A powerful gesture, with the roof being the absolute hero of this project, celebrated on a grand scale. The variation of coloured tiles creates texture through the surface, then, due to the roof's vast scale, you get a beautiful graduation of light to dark. A powerful way to approach architecture."
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Jury Statement: “The Wabi Sabi house takes the most ordinary, everyday material and transforms it into something very special. Grey concrete blocks have been laid sideways or in stack bond to create screens, veils and walls that make robust and characterful spaces.”
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Head Juror William Smart, of Smart Design Studios, said judging architecture by its use of materials allowed the jury to compare project design and execution in a unique way.
“What sets these awards apart is that we’re able to compare the application of these materials. So how they get used is what we're really judging.”
“I was inspired by the creativity. Many different architects had different approaches to using brick, block, tiles or pavers that I had never thought of doing before.
“The Think Brick Awards are quite special for us because – as an example - we've invested a lot of our time and energy into understanding how bricks work, it’s exciting to see that come forward.
Congratulating the winners and 2022 showcase projects, Elizabeth McIntyre said: “It was a privilege to be able to champion the contribution that architects, manufacturers, builders and bricklayers make in bringing these outstanding built projects to life.”
The Think Brick Awards were established 16 years ago in celebration of architectural design trends, materials science and fostering careers of emerging architects and designers. In the past 10 years the awards have grown into the richest architecture prize in Australia. The $60,000 awards program offers a $10,000 prize to each of six category winners that showcase brick, block, tile and pavers as the design material of choice in contemporary architecture.