Design Studio

Design Studio feature walls

Category: Commercial

Owner: Austral Bricks
Location: Carrington Street, Sydney NSW
Architect: Siren Design (interior designers)
Builder: Evolve Construction
Bricklayer: TWH Bricklaying ("Illusion Wall"), P and L Larkin ("Grunge Wall")

Brick manufacturer: Austral Bricks
Product: Bowral Charolais Cream, Bowral seconds (various)

Project description:

As well as having a definite "wow factor", two brick feature walls in Austral Bricks new Sydney Design Studio challenge preconceptions by graphically demonstrating the design flexibility of brickwork.

The "Grunge Wall" is located in a conference area and takes on the industrial aesthetic of a heritage wall that has been partly stripped of layers of render and plaster. Tumbled dry-pressed bricks in a seemingly random dispersion of colours are laid in a mock Flemish bond and tied back to a reinforced stud wall. Three layers of render and a top coat of plaster were carefully applied, making sure to roughly expose the layer edges.

The "Illusion Wall", sitting in a gallery area, is laid in a 45 degree herringbone bond to approximately 1.7 metres, and 45 degree running bond above. The textural illusion is the product of carefully placing full and part bricks at a thirty-degree rotation from the vertical. The brickwork is tied back to the underlying concrete masonry wall, separated by a narrow cavity.

Both walls are finished with raked joints to ensure deep shadowlines, enhanced by carefully placed lighting. All bricks are solid units, not facings. The Sydney Design Studio opened in May 2011.