Clay Brick
and Staining
14%
In the context of Hulme the use of brick was chosen to integrate the Adult Learning Centre by mimicking the local material vernacular.
Research identified the potential to use unbaked clay brickwork, a material that can passively support the environmental control of a building. The material has the capacity to absorb moisture from the air when the humidity is high, and then release the moisture in low humidity. In tests these bricks have shown good performance in cold climatic conditions, and are not damaged by adverse freezing. Moreover, research into unfired bricks has indicated that they have 14% of embodied energy as their fired counterparts, and having not been fired it is easier to recycle the brick, meaning they are an environmentally conscientious material choice.
295mm
140
90mm
The diagram above depicts several of the brick stains available, from which two were chosen. Colours top left to bottom left:Tudor Brown, Charcoal, Rustic Brown, Khaki, Mocha, Dark Plum, Old English Red, Classic Red, Warm Orange,Yellow Stock.
Bricks have the potential to be stained, changing the colour of the original material for aesthetic purposes. As the Adult Learning Centre is split across three distinct buildings, each with its own amenities and function, users need to easily understand and negotiate the three spaces. Through simply staining two of the buildings, while leaving one naturally as unbaked clay, users can distinguish between the three buildings by their colour and quality.
The two brick stains chosen have similar qualities to existing brick found in buildings in Hulme, and worked in harmony with the colour of the unbaked clay brick. Naturally each brick has a slight variation to the next, and therefore each building has different tones.