No Comments »

Knitted Bricks Give New Life to a Forgotten Material

• Tweet

• Tweet

Young and innovative architecture firm Tropical Space in Vietnam shake up all the assumptions about dowdy old brick.

Termitary House in Da Nang City, Vietnam revolutionises how brick is used in buildings.

On the ground floor, directly inside the street entrance is the open plan living, cooking and dining area.

Leading out to a modest back courtyard, the brick is paired with generous bamboo french doors.

Although right on the street, there is a sense of privacy.

In their imaginative rethink, the architects envision brick knitted into a cooling screen for the ground floor living room.

The bright red brick is improbably paired with bamboo bookcases – and it works.

Even constructing a second floor, the knitted brick is used to create a breezy throughway for the most private rooms.

The same bamboo screen is used to conceal the street through the front door.

The multiple junctions between various treatments of brick creates graphic interest.

A double stairway is a gallery of knitted brick textures.

Altogether a rich and fascinating series of contrasts.

Along with the knitted brick screen wall, a screen door by the day bed also facilitates air flow.

The warmth of the brick is a real surprise.

Sunlight filters in from every wall.

In the double height central space an overhead skylight brings daylight down.

The result is an innovative and utterly porous house that is also completely private.