Walls, screens and the in between....

I've been researching brick construction lately, as I'm responsible for building an addition on to a historic brick courthouse.   Seeing the myriad sizes available, the countless installation options and the color range made me appreciate brick as a building material in a new light. So many of the brick buildings that our firm builds rely on the traditional red, although there's such a range to choose from. I'm a fan of both spectrums: the white and the charred black. In this climate I guess the darker is going to hold up better with the rain and possible moss, but I love the mod look of white brick. In fact my home is white brick, ok painted white brick...

Via ArchDaily, I came across this Latvian house built as an addition onto a traditional brick building on a tight infill site. Several things struck me about this brick building, the first being it's color palette a mix varying from a burgundy to a charcoal grey. The task of tying into the existing building forces one to experience this building in context with the historical fabric of the street, rather than a floating oddity. The layout of the bricks changes depending on what face you view. The main street face allows a simple running bond with the deep set windows being the focus. As you turn the corner, though a hulking brick clad form looms over the parking looking very much like the texture of weathered silver grey shingles. 

The most delicate approach is the brick screen wall that allows one to peek into the veil of activity within. I love screens; the added mystery, the textured layers and calculated views. In my opinion it's unfortunate that the decorative screen block walls prevalent in mid-century homes are rarely seen these days and the blocks hard to source. The idea of the screen is not dead, in fact you see iterations done all the time with wood slats, metal cut outs and vertical green walls to name a few, but those retro screen block walls are truly ghosts of a different era. That is why this house and this screen brick wall was such an epiphany: a modern interpretation of an old friend.