BIA Honors the Best in Brick Design

RESTON, Va., July 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Brick Industry Association (BIA) has honored outstanding design incorporating genuine clay brick for both aesthetics and sustainability. Offering architects an increasingly wide palette of colors, textures and shapes for exterior and interior expression, the 2012 Brick in Architecture Award winning projects span 28 states and include commercial, educational, health care, houses of worship, municipal/government, paving and landscape architecture, multifamily and single family residential. Photo Gallery

"As a versatile building material made in America made from abundant natural resources, there is no substitute for genuine clay brick," said BIA President and CEO Gregg Borchelt, P.E. "Unlike manufactured masonry products, brick fired from genuine clay offers permanent, through-body color, proven performance and natural beauty that imitation products just can't match," he said.

In addition to competitive benefits over other exteriors, brick offers great freedom to match the architect's imagination and desires as well as an essential element of sustainable design.

Atlantic Wharf, Boston, Mass., the Best in Class commercial category winner, used a combination of existing and new brick types for both the residences and offices. The 1,200,000 s.f. mixed-use complex is also Boston's first LEED Certified Platinum high-rise.

"Integrating old and new brick was important to maintain the historic character of the area," said Associate Principal Philip Casey, AIA, LEED AP, CBT Architects, Boston. "A lot of effort went into matching mortar to maintain the historic context," he said. "Brick was also an integral part of our objective to achieve LEED Platinum in the Building Reuse category."

The North Carolina State University chancellor's residence, named The Point, won Best in Class in the residential single family category. The 5,400-s.f. residence (comprising 3,100 s.f. of living quarters) was designed by North Carolina Statue University led by Marvin Malecha, FAIA, dean of the NC State University College of Design and president of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Genuine clay brick was part of the sustainable materials selected, including solar panels and geothermal heating and cooling.

Malecha said that the residence was designed to represent NC State and North Carolina as a "mini stimulus" to help boost the state's jobs and materials. "We wanted it to not only be beautiful and adaptable to the ways it will be used, but also be build using sustainable practices," said Malecha in an NC State article.

The 2012 Best in Class winners include:

COMMERCIAL Atlantic Wharf - Boston, Mass. Architect: CBT Architects Builder: John Ordinary& Associates, Inc. Mason Contractor: A. Jandris & Sons, Inc.

EDUCATIONAL The Ogden International School of Chicago Chicago, Ill. Architect: Nagle Hartray Architecture Landscape Architect: Terry Guen Design Associates Associate Architect: Schroeder Murchie Niemiec Gazda-Auskalnis Architects, Ltd. Builder: Turner Construction Company Mason Contractor: Illinois Masonry Corporation

Go here to see the original:
BIA Honors the Best in Brick Design