The crowning of the
2019 Brick Awards winners during a glittering ceremony that for 43 years has
celebrated the best use of brick in the built environment.
Projects of the
highest calibre are routinely entered by architects, contractors and developers
and, this year was no exception.
This year’s title of
Supreme Winner has been awarded to the excellent The Dorothy Garrod
Building, Newnham College at the University of Cambridge (pictured).
Designed by Walters & Cohen Architects, this outstanding project also won
the Medium Housing Development and Craftmanship categories.
Focusing on
the value of using durable materials and on finding the right suppliers of
products, The Dorothy Garrod Building knits itself among the buildings already
part of the college and creates a new frontage for the college from one
entrance.
The elegant
design balances solidity and transparency, with glazing alternating with
full-height brickwork panels where hit-and-miss element weaves seamlessly into
the texture and detail of the elevation. The hit-and-miss brickwork complements
the existing buildings without mimicking them.
A bespoke
mixture of Northcot Plumstead and Lynham Red bricks were made to create
Sidgwick Blend bricks for the project.
“The supreme winner, the Dorothy Garrod Building,
really impressed the judges who felt it was exceptional in a number of ways,”
said Hillary Satchwell, Head Judge, Brick Awards 2019
“It manages to be exemplary teaching and research
space, as well as student housing; it is a strongly urban and welcoming
response to the surrounding streets in this part of Cambridge; and at the same
time is an amazing work of carefully considered and expressive brick design and
craftsmanship. Quite some achievement.”
