Jerwood Space

Ketley brown antique bricks and special shaped plinth bricks

Architects - William Watson Mann

Photography - David Gordange

Background

This former Victorian school in Southwark provides the most sought after rehearsal studios for theartre, opera and dance in the country.  It opened in 1998 and Witherford Watson Mann Architects have just completed a redevelopment of the public areas, including the Glass house and cafe.  The architects needed to find a brick that would harmonise with the Victorian street scene in Union Street, as well as the old bricks of the existing building.   

Challenge

William Watson Mann are familiar with Ketley products which are known for their authenticity and durability and felt they would fit well with the context of the Victorian streetscene here.  However, they were also looking for a brick with considereable colour variation, more of a multi than Ketley offered within their standard Staffordshire brick colours.  Ketley trialled a low reduction firing of their bricks, where they controlled the amount of oxygen within the kiln, and the results were very pleasing. 

Result

Ketley's brown antique bricks were created in this way, providing the colour variation that WWM architects were looking for, with pinky reds mixing with purple tones.  The way the bricks were set on the kiln cars during firing meant that the header bricks had even more colour variation than the stretchers, many having a darker colour and some "hearting".  By using a Flemish bond, the architects were able to achieve the colour variation in the brickwork they were after.

The new Ketley bricks at Jerwood Space sit happily alongside the old Victorian bricks,  complementing the heritage of the buildings there.  Matching plinth bricks were also required for the stepped detail beneath the large window.