The Horbury Hunt Awards for excellence in brickwork, conducted by Think Brick Australia, celebrate the life and work of John Horbury Hunt, a colonial-era architect famous for his innovative use of brickwork.
Austral Bricks projects took the first place in Residential and Landscaping categories and achieved a Highly Commended in the hotly-contended Commercial category.
C500 - A 1920s Brisbane bungalow re-made in a contemporary interpretation of the classic Queenslander took first place in Residential Category. Bowral Simmental Silver dry-pressed bricks were used in an innovative fashion for the project and included perforated walls and stack bonding with mortarless, perpend joints.
Jacaranda Square - Surrounding the square at Sydney Olympic Park is a freestanding brick wall in a lively blend of Bowral Gertrudis Brown and glazed bricks. Bowral bricks and recycled bricks pave the site. It took first place in the new Landscaping Category.
For the Commercial Category - Newtown High School for the Performing Arts was highly commended. The new rehearsal and performance workshop building used the modularity of brickwork and a wide range of Bowral bricks to pattern the facade with interpretations of musical notation and sound waves.
Brett Ward, Brickworks National Marketing Manager said that Austral Bricks has a long and renowned history in the Horbury Hunt Awards.
“This included First Place in 2008 for a Victorian project using custom-made Nubrik pressed bricks and many similar awards in previous years when the awards were conducted by the NSW chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects.
“The awards show that clay bricks can give unique interpretations to cutting edge architecture providing structural and decorative features while bringing sustainability benefits to projects. At Austral Bricks we are creating new colours, sizes and textures for architects wanting to use bricks for architecture of the future,” said Brett.