Brick Is Back, Baby!
1960’s architecture in Brisbane was all about quality materials and workmanship. The timber was hardwood, built on a brick and concrete base. The architectural design aesthetic somewhat practical and austere.
Over the years brick’s popularity has waned and suffered under layers of render and replaced with cheaper pre-fabricated materials. Thanks to firms such as Vokes and Peters and Lockyer Architects brick might very well be experiencing a renaissance as it is being used in new contemporary designs, as a complimentary addition to traditional spaces, and in playful ways to enhance design elements such as line and levels.
Recently I completed a design for a young family on Brisbane’s Northside who wanted to incorporate the original brickwork of their 1960’s home into the landscape design of their backyard. As two hardworking professionals with a little person wanting to make the garden his own, the brief also specified an easy-to-maintain family friendly zone with lots of space to run around!
New brick plinths were constructed in the back garden to reflect the simple, yet striking, original brickwork of the 1960’s era house
Large pavers continue the linear aesthetic, purposefully splayed, to create a visual illusion of a longer yard. The rectangular deco granite sections link to the strong brick plinths in both colour and line.
The perimeter of the garden is edged in soft plantings as preferred by the client to eventually give some privacy while retaining a usable grassy space for little legs to run free.
Whether you are looking to the past for inspiration, or setting your sights on contemporary designs, brick is such a versatile material that can be incorporated into your landscape design in bold, linear lines or gently sweeping curves. For some further architectural inspiration take a look at the Think Brick website, then contact me at the Seed Landscape Design studio and let’s come up with a landscape design that compliments your home.
Images: 1. Domain, 2. (clockwise from top left) Buena Vista, Folkhouse, Hervey Bay Farmhouse, Indooroopilly House, 3, 4, 5. Seed Landscape Design