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| Hammersmith School Bags Best Brick Award  A high school in West London has won the award for the best brickwork in Britain. The new music and drama building, at Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, beat off hundreds of competitors to take the prestigious 2008 Brick Awards. The Brick Awards is one of Britain's most respected design competitions. Run by the Brick Development Association, the annual contest provides the definitive showcase for what brick can do. And Latymer School was up against some stiff competition. There were a record number of entrants this year, with projects from Russia and across Europe – including the stunning brickwork at St Pancras Station.Yet the school won the category for the Best Commercial Building, and then walked away with the Supreme Award – the BDA Building of the Year. "This is an architectural gem," says Royal Gold Medallist for Architecture, Edward (Ted) Cullinan, who chaired the judging panel. "This building not only answers the client's brief but also makes a positive contribution to its context by forming the central square. The brickwork is skilfully designed and laid, both externally and internally." The winning entry was a team effort. Architects van Heyningen & Haward came up with a stunning design, which brickwork contractors R Durtnell & Sons brought to life using Berkshire Orange stock bricks made by Ibstock Brick. Latymer's new music and drama facility is contained in a new 4-storey building, sited between the recently completed Latymer Arts Centre and a main building. It has a fully-glazed foyer to take full advantage of is location at the southern end of a newly created central square. It's also linked to the Arts Centre with glazed links at an upper floor level. Van Hayningen & Hayward chose brick as it's a good quality, low maintenance material. A recent survey found that brick structures can have a lifespan of 500 years or more. Repointing might be necessary after 70 years but apart from that no regular maintenance is required. And the effect of the Berkshire Orange brickwork was astonishing. "There is a limited palette of materials all of which combine well with brick to produce a convincing design solution," the judges added. In addition to the Supreme Award, there were 14 category awards, each showing excellence in different aspects of design and construction. write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Construction News :: home page |