Brick Houses That Form A Bridge Between Past And Present
Exposed bricks are making a big comeback lately but not so long ago brick houses and buildings were perceived as being old, outdated and in immediate need of renovations. Now, on the other hand, we’re beginning to appreciate the warmth and charm of a brick house and to find inspiration in its design. Any of the following brick houses could serve as a source of inspiration for future projects or remodels.
The Cubo House in Australia
The Cubo House was redesigned in 2013 and its new look is the work of Phooey Architects. The house is located in Melbourne, Australia and offers a living space of 410 square meters. The interior is contemporary with mid century modern accents but the feature that interests us the most is the exterior design, more exactly the brick facade.
The project was actually a remodel of an existing double-storey terrace house built during the Victorian era and which is heritage-listed. Its owners wanted to transform it into a sustainable home that would suit their modern family needs. Because the house was a heritage structure, the architects couldn’t make any drastic architecture changes and had to stick with a look that matched the original design.
Casa O in Mexico
Located in the metropolitan area of Guadalajara in Mexico, Casa O was designed with a very specific goal in mind: to use the total permitted area of construction. The resulted design features two modules with two different shells. The upper module is covered in bricks while the bottom one is gray. This was a project by ARO ESTUDIO
The Brick House in India
You can find this unusual residence in Wada, near Mumbai, in a rural area surrounded by farms and hills. The house appears to emerge out of the ground. Its brick walls carry a strong resemblance to the ground and the form of the house is defined by organic lines, curved shapes and a really unusual overall structure. Each volume flows into the others in a seamless manner and all the interior spaces are linked by a central courtyard. This memorable design was the project of iStudio architecture.
The Shatura House in Russia
Brick houses are not specific to a single culture or region of the globe. They can be found everywhere and they always look different and interesting. This is a house located in Shatura, a region in Russia. It was built in 2016 and it occupies an area of 219 square meters.
What’s interesting about the house is the way it’s disposed into three modules. Each featuring a slightly different form and facade. The module on the left is particularly interesting because of the roof chimney and the brick exterior. The central module has a wooden frame that forms a terrace and expands the living space outdoors. The house was designed and built by Le Atelier.
The Maroubra House in Sydney
Brick, concrete and wood were combined by THOSE Architects when designing the Maroubra House. The residence is located in Sydney and is structured on a single level. The interior is modern with a touch of rustic warmth. The house was built in the 1930s and has only recently been updated with the new look.
The new design features brick walls and custom-made concrete elements that complement the warmth of the bricks and the wood with their cool and simple charm. Large sliding glass doors connect the interior living space to an outdoor wooden terrace and pivot glass doors open the spaces and let the breeze and light in.
The Glass Box in London
It’s small but this doesn’t stop it from being interesting. The Glass Box is a structure located in London, United Kingdom. It occupies an area of 60 square meters and it represents an extension for an existing building. Built in 2015, the extension stands out from the design of the original structure.
The glass box brings natural light into the building and also offers panoramic and unobstructed views of the adjacent park. At the same time, the orientation of the existing brick structure provides shade during the afternoon and protects the box from the elements. The extension was added by Studio 304 Architecture.
The Riel Estate project in The Netherlands
The Riel Estate house is located in Tilburg, in The Netherlands and was completed in 2014 by Joris Verhoeven Architectuur. The house offers a total of 280 square meters of living space and has a design that’s at the limit between rustic and modern.
On one hand, the house has brick walls and this could be interpreted as a characteristic of rustic or vintage design. On the other hand, the design is simple and the roof has a quirky side pitch that gives the house a playful look. The windows are large, another sign of modernity.
A brick extension in Ireland
NOJI Architects designed in 2014 an extension for a house located in Dublin, Ireland. The extension offers a new opening and connects the entrance hallway on the ground floor to the new kitchen and to the garden.
Brick was used for the exterior walls of the extension and its form is dictated by the need to provide as much interior space as possible and to also maximize the amount of natural light that enters the building. At the same time, the design had to comply with the strict building regulations in the area. It wasn’t an easy task but the architects managed to make the most of everything.
The Scale-ing House in South Korea
In some regions the lack of space drives architects to focus more on the functionality of the design and less on its aesthetics. One such area is Pangyo where everyone’s goal is to accommodate as many houses as possible. In 2013 JOHO Architecture designed here a residence with a living space of 128 square meters and an interesting form.
The idea here was to close off the view to the neighboring buildings and to open the interior towards views of the surroundings. The limitations of the project were obvious but even so the architects managed to make it look really inviting, especially with that brick exterior that they painted gray.
The Long Brick House in Hungary
A lot of times the exterior design of the house is also a reflection of its interior. However, sometimes that’s not exactly accurate. The Long Brick House located in Hungary has a brick exterior shell which could suggests a traditional design. The interior, however, is a combination of classical and modern influences and is defined mostly by light and neutral colors. The house was built in 2013 by Foldes Architects.
A 1900s residence in Toronto
The classic architecture of this house in Toronto is really charming. The house was originally built in the early 1900s and it still preserves some of that beauty. It has a pitched roof and a brick facade. Behind this shell ides a modern and fresh interior designed by Johnson Chou. There’s definitely a strong contrast between the interior and the exterior of the house allowing the structure to be a sort of bridge between two eras.