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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
JUNE
2017
Exterior of vestry offices at Sankt Petri showing various brick patterns.
ABOVE AND BELOW:
St Mark’s brick vaults supported on angled steel
beams. (All Images: T. Deckler.)
project which called for construction in the local dark clay brick to
two world renowned Swedish churches, St Peter’s in Klippan and St
Mark’s in Bjorkhagen, Sweden. Both churches show his investment
in brick as a material and his mastery of the medium. And, both
churches are a showcase of his ability to transform the use of clay
brick from what many believe to be the mundane into tactile spaces
which resonate with atmosphere.
In the St Peter’s structure, Deckler was particularly admiring of
Lewerentz’s ability to allude to and evoke the atmosphere of the
Roman catacombs where early Christians hid to escape capture.
Here the entire structure is made from brick including the walls,
floors and ceilings. He also forbade the workmen to cut any of
the bricks or grind off welding burs on the steel work to ensure an
unpretentious directness. “One can argue that this is what most
builders in South Africa achieve without even trying….but in the case
of Lewerentz it’s a premeditated move over which he presided with
utmost control and intent,” explains Deckler.
The Brutalist movement was a big fan of brick – utilitarian,
stark and rugged, Brutalist brick buildings are typically massive
in character if not in size and are renowned for their functionality.
Favoured for educational buildings, government projects and
public housing, Brutalism can be seen as an expression of moral
seriousness amongst architects after the lightness and frivolity of
some 1930s and 1940 architecture. “I have some feelings
for Brutalism where it was handled less dogmatically and
where proportions, human scale and the integration of
nature are well considered,” says Deckler recalling many of
Lewerentz’s works.
Favoured long before
Facebrick, however, was favoured long before the Brutalist
movement as is witnessed in the Monadnock Building in
Chicago, USA. Built in 1891 and completed in 1893 the
Monadnock was the tallest load bearing building ever
constructed and is identified by its unornamented vertical
mass of purple-brown brick. Deckler, who recently returned
from a trip to Chicago was impressed by this 16-story high-
rise. “The facebrick material made an incredible impression
on me and the building’s deep window reveals and rounded
corners gave it a tactile feel that was almost African in
nature, reminding me of the earth architecture of Mali,”
he commented.
From churches to corporate buildings and suburban
homes, around the world facebrick has featured prominently
in the last century, the choice of architects looking for
honesty, practicality and integrity.
Deckler leaves us with this thought: “This all goes back to the
argument that decent architecture, no matter what material and style
it is, can be enabling, comforting, inspiring and memorable if it is in
control of proportion and scale, and offers intimacy and generosity.”
Corobrik, the brickmaking giant has been supplying the Southern
African market for the past 115 years.
“Our bricks are as relevant today as they were a century back,
“said Musa Shangase, Corobrik Commercial Director. “We continue
to invest in our business to ensure we remain relevant and can
produce bricks, that are environmentally friendly, long lasting and
never go out of fashion.”