2021 Brick Awards Winners, UK Architecture Awards News, Buildings Photos, Architects Shortlist

Brick Awards 2021 Winners

Architectural Winners: UK Built Environment Prize – Winning Designs + Designers

post updated 31 March 2022 + 26 + 24 + 11 November 2021

Celebrating the best in brick

Brick Awards 2021 Winning Building

The annex to Lambeth Palace Library was crowned best public building and supreme winner at this year’s Brick Awards.

Lambeth Palace Library building design by Wright & Wright Architects:

photos courtesy of Brick Awards / architects

Designed by Wright & Wright Architects, this contemporary building is home to the Church of England’s library and national archive which includes historic documents including the death warrant for Mary, Queen of Scots, signed by Elizabeth I.

The winning design features a nine-storey central tower, crowned by a viewing platform and flanked by four- and five-storey wings all of which are clad in handmade Ibstock bricks.

The annex to Lambeth Palace Library is one of 17 winners in this year’s Brick Awards, which recognise and celebrate the best use of brick in the built environment.

Lambeth Palace Library Building

Brick Awards 2021 Shortlist

Other 2021 Brick Award winners include:

Architect Alma-nac’s design for the aptly named House-within-a-House, which won the Individual House category with its design for a modern home created by shrouding an existing 1950’s house in a new three-storey brick structure.

This is an inspired, economical and sustainable means of extending the house, which simultaneously resulted in a thermally efficient, contemporary dwelling. Now, wrapped in its new exterior skin, replete with a new pitched roof, the house once again references its Victorian neighbour while its contemporary, asymmetrical street elevation successfully reinstates the rhythm of the street.

In contrast to the urban location of House-within-a-House, Haverstock Architect’s scheme for a new Crematorium for West Lindsey District Council is located in parkland.

This scheme won the Architects’ Choice category. It uses a combination of brick and timber to create an elegant building designed to connect with the landscape to enhance the overall feeling of tranquility. The judges described it as a very striking building on a very limited budget.

de Metz Forbes Knight Architects’ scheme for an extension to a 1980s office building in Kings Cross uses brick innovatively to form a lattice curtain around the new highly-glazed structure. This scheme’s perforated brick facade won the Innovation Category for transforming what could have been a very average-looking office block into something architecturally delightful and visually interesting. The judges said the building’s striking appearance “contributes to the streetscape of this rather dull stretch of road”.

All of the category winners at this year’s Brick Awards show what can be achieved with well-considered design, robust brick detailing and careful delivery.

2021 Brick Awards Winners

Full list of winners for the 2021 Brick Awards:

Supreme Winner and best Public Building

Project: Lambeth Palace Library

Architect: Wright & Wright

Bricks: Ibstock

Judges comments:

Excellent, courageous and rigorous in its use of brick as a primary cladding material for this important building. The choice and detail of the brickwork is integral to the success of the building, in terms of its relationship and dialogue with Lambeth Palace. The careful mixing and batching of three subtly different shades of red brick, combined with the restrained use of textured panels and careful proportions of the openings all soften the unapologetically massive volume and give the whole an understated elegance.

Lambeth Palace Library

Individual House

Project: House-within-a-House

Architect: alma-nac

Bricks: Michelmersh

House-within-a-House

Housing Development SMALL

Project: Pump House

Architect: Common Ground Architecture

Bricks: Ibstock and Wienerberger

photo © Jim Stephenson 2020

Pump House South Norwood

Housing Development MEDIUM

Project: The Officers’ House Royal Arsenal

Architect: Allford Hall Monaghan Morris

Bricks: Ibstock

The Officers’ House Royal Arsenal

Housing Development LARGE

Project: Excelsior Works

Architect: Tim Groom Architects

Bricks: Michelmersh

Excelsior Works

Judges comments:

A calm contextual response – Manchester would benefit from more new ‘background’ buildings like this.

Urban Regeneration

Project: Hackney New Primary School

Architect: Henley Halebrown

Bricks: Wienberberger

photo courtesy of architects office

Hackney New Primary School

Judges comments:

Definitely a masterclass in the unlikely marriage of an inner city school and block of flats!

The complex master-planning of the tight urban corner site to house an inner city school for small kids along with with a tower of luxury flats was handled very well in design. Play-spaces and rooftops were wonderfully maximized where possible. A lot of thought and care have been given to the design and how things come together and how each element work with the operation of the school. Very impressive!

House Builder

Project: Redrow Homes

Bricks: Ibstock

Judges comments:

Good use of urban design and master planning together with use of materials, detailing and layout. The choice of bricks and wider materials fitted in well with the surroundings and helped to secure the outcome of a successful design process.

Commercial Building

Project: i9 Wolverhampton Interchange

Architect: Glenn Howells Architects

Bricks: Ibstock

i9 Wolverhampton Interchange

Educational Building

Project: Catherine Hughes Building

Architect: Niall McLaughlin Architects

Bricks: Ibstock

Catherine Hughes Building Somerville College Oxford

Judges comments:

The west elevation sets the style for the whole building with the side elevations, facing north and south, continuing the theme. Stepped reveals frame the recessed full height fenestration, their lightness and articulation contrasting with the solidity of the flanking monolithic brick towers.

Refurbishment

Project: John Morden Centre, Morden College, Blackheath, south east London

Architect: Mae

Bricks: Ibstock

John Morden Centre

Outdoor Space

Project: The Newt in Somerset

Architect: benjamin + beauchamp architects

Bricks: Northcot Brick

The Newt in Somerset Buildings and Landscape

Innovation

Project: York House, Kings Cross

Architect: deMetz Forbes Knight Architects

Bricks: Forterra

photo © Jack Hobhouse

York House in King’s Cross

Judges comments:

An innovative use of brick executed perfectly, a great example of refurbishment and extension to a 1980 building which could have been demolished otherwise. It’s striking appearance contributes to the streetscape of this rather dull stretch of road.

Craftsmanship

Project: Wolverton Hall Folly

Architect: Quinlan Terry Architects

Bricks: Michelmersh

image courtesy of architects practice

Wolverton Hall Folly

Specialist Brickwork Contractor

Swift Brickwork Contractors

Description:

The company has been at the forefront of innovation within our industry for many years and have developed new processes and skills that will ensure brick is a material of choice for architects, for generations to come. Some of the most iconic buildings in the capital have used processes developed by Swift Brickwork.

Swift Brickwork Contractors

Worldwide

Project: Tangzhuang Village Community Centre, Yunlong County, Yunnan Province, China

Architect: SHEN yue

Bricks: Reclaimed (provenance unknown)