Architecture + Brick | Glazed Brick in Child Centre Recalls Meandering River

Brand Architects is a firm based out of Melbourne, Australia. Brand builds public buildings such as schools and community centers, with an emphasis on environmental design.

This year Brand completed work on the Hazel Glen Child and Family Centre, in Doreen, Australia. The most arresting feature of the building is the brightly-colored glazed brick adorning the curving facade.

The shape of the building recalls the nearby river. In addition to that stylistic environmental connection, the building itself is environmentally sound.

The designers told ArchDaily:

“Hazel Glen Child and Family Centre uses a vibrant patchwork of glazed bricks, along with various timbers to create a welcoming family centre.  This state-of-the-art building consists of four childcare rooms, maternal and child health consulting suites, various sized community rooms and a central flexible community gathering space.  Located in the heart of the Plenty River Valley, the centre references the winding Plenty River in its meandering walls and verandah lines and with metaphorical flows and eddies through the central space, while the roofline responds to the horizon line of the distant Kinglake Ranges.

…

“The Hazel Glen Child and Family Centre is located in an area of cool temperate climate.  The building has been designed to reflect the fact that there are far more days that require heating than cooling in Whittlesea – hence the inclusion of a gas-fired hydronic in-slab heating system, thermal mass and evaporative cooling in the building.  In a temperate client, careful orientation and shading of glazing is essential to maintain comfortable internal temperatures and daylight levels, this is complemented with double glazing and thorough building sealing to prevent air leakage.”

Love contemporary ceramic art + design? Let us know in the comments.