On the other hand it was clear that this building, although formally sculptural, would not be about craft (which has little interest to us). Like the glowing charged glass walled lightbox in the Barcelona Pavilion, it is a naturally lit space which is not legible from the exterior. It is found by way of a passage and stair, a hidden centre known only to the initiated (like a family secret). And at this point, where the lands drops, is water.Ī cavern-like space sits below and between the homes, a swimming pool which the families share. We are building on a slope of nearly 10 metres, from entrance gate to the hill at the rear of this hourglass shaped plot, so this new object must distort, slipping in section to register the topography (and the two homes within), but in plan too with a rotation of 5deg softening the abutment with the steep hillside to the South. The building is entered on the semi public North side, reached from a new granite cobbled drive which has the urbanity of a street in a large village or town. Formally, our building is an object in the landscape, developed as a single form in the spirit of Villa Badoer (whose three garden facades are like a triptych). We carved a small Oak and Iroko model of the form on its site and this became emblem for the way we felt about it. The building is conceived in a continuous single surface and material, using a hand made brick (and matching flush mortar) chosen for the way it rhymes to tree bark, the predominating context. Brick Leaf House sits between two elderly trees (Copper Beech and English Oak) which, similar in size, defines the project as a composition of equivalence between these three things. Each is organised around a double height hall whose glass roof retracts to allow use as an outdoor patio. The homes are laid out over two floors, two living suites each on the ground, four bedrooms and bathrooms above. An outbuilding contains shared parking, office and a ceramic studio. An 18th Century brick boundary wall is all that remains of the grand house which once stood here before the war. In thinking about and then making this building I had in mind works by Andreas Palladio as modified by the 18th century English tradition, by Mies van Der Rohe at Krefeld, but also the brick houses laid out by Edwin Lutyens in the area of our site in Hampstead Garden Suburb, London. This is the first freestanding building of my practice.It is a double house for two young brothers and their families. Subscribe to our free magazine on Or join other discussions on, , and. Website: For more technical articles, sign up for our newsletter. Use your creativity and transform your boundary walls, and win some cash in the process. The competition closes at the end of August 2019. Simply take a picture of your innovative, creative and much-loved boundary wall, and either drop it off or share it with Corobrik via post, e-mail, Facebook or WhatsApp. They will even add a further R10 000 if the face-bricks used to build your stunning wall were purchased from either Corobrik Centre Lawley or Crown Mines. So, if you’ve built, or are building a boundary wall, you could be in line for a R40 000 prize from Corobrik! “A wide variety of natural clay hues complement landscaping and outdoor areas while contrasting bricks, especially our newly launched black and white bricks, can act as interesting accents.” “Corobrik face-brick comes in such a variety of colours and textures that the sky is quite literally the limit,” says Corobrik’s commercial director, Musa Shangase. A beautiful brick boundary wall makes a good first impression – it can also be an important asset that adds value to a property.
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