Red brick represents decades of Australian architecture due to the timeless charm of the richness, warmth, and luxury that it provides residential and commercial projects. Situated in the Victorian beachside suburb of Altona, the Fisher project by Tophat & Mayfair utilizes distinctly red bricks to achieve a contemporary interpretation of a family home in the space-utilizing setting of urban townhouses. The theme for the home is “where industrial fabrications meet contemporary design”, meaning that the red bricks, contrasting with the dark finishes of the first floor allow for a warm and earthy, yet contemporary home.
Pawel Pergol, Director at Tophat & Mayfair described the contemporary design aesthetic as an attempt to highlight the red bricks as the feature of the façade.
“The first floor was purposely designed in dark finishes to create a distinct contemporary look when compared to other homes in the area and to highlight the PGH bricks.”
Given the space challenges that often arise with designing townhouses, Tophat & Mayfair wanted the home to have a very calming and minimalist aesthetic to get the most from the space available. To achieve this, offset brick cube facades were allocated to the ground floor. Partnered with the distinctly warm and earthy red bricks by PGH Bricks & Pavers’, this allowed the two townhouses to appear as separate buildings from the street level. The decision to specify the PGH Bricks & Pavers’ red bricks was a matter of aesthetic and overall contribution to the intended contemporary design.
“The bricks were chosen for their clean lines and smooth-face texture, to help in the overall contemporary and industrial feel to the design” said Pawel. “Altona is such a beautiful beach side suburb and is underestimated by many. It is considered by the locals as a hidden gem of Melbourne which deserves to be appreciated.”
Recognised for their beautiful clean lines, smooth-face textures, and their ability to seamlessly collaborate with the inspirational Australian natural colours, the bricks add a calming presence to the contemporary home, making the well planned and skilfully executed design appear effortless through its minimalistic aesthetic. The fantastic craftsmanship that this sense of luxury and high-end lifestyle derives from in this home is emphasised through the collaboration of two registered builders working in unison on this project. Crediting builders Mancini Made for their creativity and eagerness to share ideas, Tophat & Mayfair were extremely pleased with the finished build that now graces the Altona suburb in a contemporary industrial design trend that is prevalent in the neighbouring Seddon and Yarraville suburbs.
"Great collaboration with our builder Mancini Made enabled us to resolve any challenges promptly. We bounced ideas off each other, opening space for creativity and delivery of the end result we strived to achieve.”
Complimenting the clean lines and smooth-face texture of the PGH bricks, Sambuca from Monier Roofing’s Horizon range has been used on the roof to deliver a streamlined look and feel. Providing features and benefits such as C-LOC Technology which will help the townhouses look better for longer, thermal and acoustic insulation, and many other advantages, the Horizon roof tiles integrate seamlessly with the red bricks in these townhouses, collaborating to produce the beautiful façade that exists today.
Further reading is available through our blog piece on the revival of red bricks.
You can also review our warm earth styles scheme to find out more about the strong and welcoming combination of earthy tones in modern interpretations.
Photography: Axiom Photography & Design
For more information, visit www.pghbricks.com.au or call 13 15 79.
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