Modern learning institutions not only need to be places of inspiration and creativity, they also need to be built to withstand the long term rough and tumble of sports equipment, school bags and general rugged student activity.
Working to a brief of a neutral palette with limited use of bold colours, Kneeler Design Architects was commissioned to re-imagine the use of bricks for the design of Mount Pleasant Primary School and Kindergarten in Melbourne.
With a strong understanding of the versatility of bricks – and the PGH offering - Kneeler Design Architects incorporated brickwork throughout the design wherever possible. Ongoing maintenance for a school is difficult, so the inclusion of pre-finished, low maintenance products was going to add exceptional value to the long term presentation of the buildings and surrounding outdoor spaces. As a result, bricks feature in external and internal walls, entry paving feature strips, landscape seating and planters.
Claire Carson of Kneeler Design Architects said, “we specified bricks because they’re durable and low maintenance, making them highly suitable for the school environment. However, we were determined to use this classic material creatively and design a welcoming and stimulating environment for the school community.
“In lieu of bold colours and contrasts, we used a combination of standard and slimline bricks from the PGH Dry Pressed collection for a subtle expression of brickwork. This added simple yet impactful pattern and proportion to the design.
“Split bricks help to break up the monotony of standard bricks and allowed us to play with scale and lend proportion to the design.”
Incorporating metallic bricks at the entrance of the school provided a playful yet subtle element to the design, without veering off brief. These have been to the delight of the principal and teachers, who regularly comment on the reflective quality of the bricks.
The project primarily used standard and split PGH Dry Pressed bricks in Mowbray Blue. PGH Urban Metal splits in Silver Spark and PGH Seascape splits in Lagoon were also used as feature bricks.
The PGH Dry Pressed collection includes Dry Pressed Linear, Dry Pressed 50mm Splits and the classic Dry Pressed brick. The essence of traditional brick craftsmanship, PGH Dry Pressed bricks are a premium range of solid bricks with sharp, clean edges and a wide colour palette, ideal for creating contemporary masterpieces, or matching existing brickwork.
