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October 2015
Bricks & Paving
pattern gave character and charm to
the individual buildings.
The interiors of the existing build-
ings have retained the industrial,
factory design with exposed trusses
and clerestorey lighting, to admit
light and fresh air.The internal face
brick has been painted in shades of
white and grey which introduces dif-
ferent textures while in keeping with
the industrial feel.
The older buildings have also
retained the original English bond
brickwork pattern on the plinth
which correlateswith a number of the
signature building aspects such as
the “signage walls” which have been
constructed using reused old bricks.
“We wanted to sustain what we
could from the old structures
but have made the style
quite obvious in the newer struc-
tures,” explained Fourie.
The trendy Boiler Room cafe,
housed in the original factory boiler
room has a much more modern feel.
This sits alongside the eye-catching
chimney stack which has retained its
original brickwork yet blends in with
the newer structures.
One of the newer buildings is the
impressive six-storey building
on the eastern side of the
property, which com-
prises a parkade and
office block. The southern side has
an immense 18 m high face brick
wall, which proved to be a significant
design challenge for the architects.
“The original idea was to reuse
the old bricks from the demolished
warehouse for the wall but, because
it is such a vast expanse thereweren’t
enough and we tried different pat-
terns. Corobrik were fantastic, sup-
plying us with a number of samples.
The terracotta satin face bricks were
the perfect choice, effortlessly blend-
ing the feel of the older buildings with
a modern look,” said Fourie
The design selected for the wall
was English bond brickwork with a
relief pattern whereby every second
half-brick protrudes from the wall
by 15mm.
“There was a lot of experimen-
tation on how far the brick should
protrude - too much and it would
become a dust trap - but it had to
project enough to create an interest-
ing façade.”
The 15 mmprojection created dif-
ferent shadows throughout the day
so that the look of thewall constantly
changes. The inevitable efflorescence
– a white, salt deposit from the face
brick – is disguised by the pattern of
the bricks.
Dean Jay Architects selected Coro-
brik’s range of Burgundy pavers and
used a Herringbone pattern for the
heavy vehicle traffic and a stretcher
bond pattern for the pedestrian
traffic.
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landmark