2013 BIA Award Winners Honored for Best in Brick Design

The Brick Industry Association has honored stunning architecture that incorporates fired clay brick. With new categories this year, including Renovation/Restoration, the 2013 Brick in Architecture Awards span almost half the country in 21 states, including green building practices that have earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) ratings.

"Fired clay brick offers unmatched style and substance," says BIA President and CEO Gregg Borchelt, P.E. "It offers the aesthetic flexibility to match the architect's imagination and desires, along with sustainable design, unmatched durability and many benefits from its physical properties."

The 2013 Brick in Architecture Award winners include Best in Class, Gold, Silver and Bronze categories. Best in Class winners include:

BEST IN CLASS
Commercial
Farm Credit Services of America Corporate Office Building 2  Omaha, Nebraska
Architect: The Clark Enersen Partners
Landscape Architect: The Clark Enersen Partners
Builder: Sampson Construction
Mason Contractor: D C Masonry Inc.
Photographer: Scholzimages

Educational (Higher Education)
University of Pennsylvania Law School
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Architect: Kennedy & Violich Architecture, Ltd
Landscape Architect: Richard Burck Associates, Inc
Builder: Hunter Roberts Construction Group
Manufacturer: The Belden Brick Company
Manufacturer 2: Glen-Gery Corporation
Distributor: Diener Brick Company
Mason Contractor: Dan LePore and Sons
Photographer: Halkin Architectural Photography

Educational (K-12)
New Settlement Community Campus
Bronx, New York
Architect: Dattner Architects
Landscape Architect: MKW + Associates
Associate Architect: Edelman Sultan Knox Wood / Architects
Builder: Turner Construction Company
Manufacturer: The Belden Brick Company
Mason Contractor: Mastercraft Masonry I, Inc
Photographer: David Sundberg
 
Health Care
Hendricks Regional Health YMCA  Avon, Indiana
Architect: American Structurepoint, Inc.
Landscape Architect: Context, LLC
Builder: Skillman Corporation
Distributor: Edgewood Building Supply
Mason Contractor: Purdy Masonry, Inc.
Photographer: Susan Fleck Photography
Photographer 2: Tony Frederick Photography
Owner: Hendricks Regional Health and YMCA of Greater Indianapolis
MEP Engineer: Korda Nemeth

Houses of Worship
Kent R. Hance Chapel  Lubbock, Texas
Architect: McKinney York Architects
Manufacturer: Acme Brick
Mason Contractor: Western Builders
Photographer: Dror Baldinger
 
Municipal / Government
Fountaindale Public Library District  Bolingbrook, Illinois
Architect: Nagle Hartray Architecture
Landscape Architect: Wolff Landscape Architecture Inc.
Builder: Power Construction
Manufacturer: The Belden Brick Company
Distributor: Illinois Brick Company
Mason Contractor: Ramcorp
Photographer: Ballogg Photography
Photographer 2: Richard Lanenga Photography (aerial photo)

Paving & Landscape Architecture
Pierce's Park Baltimore, Maryland
Architect: Mahan Rykiel Associates, Inc.
Builder: P. Flanigan & Sons, Inc.
Manufacturer: Whitacre Greer Co.
Mason Contractor: Priority Construction Corp.
Photographer: Mahan Rykiel

Renovation/Restoration
Warren Cultural Center  Greenfield, Iowa 
Architect: INVISION Planning Architecture Interiors
Builder: Lang Construction Group, Inc.
Manufacturer: Glen-Gery Corporation
Mason Contractor: Seedorf Masonry

Residential – Multi-Family
Gables 12 Twenty One  Arlington, Virginia
Architect: The Preston Partnership
Builder: Gables Residential
Manufacturer: Glen-Gery Corporation
Distributor: Capital Brick & Tile, Inc.
Mason Contractor: Diverse Masonry
Photographer: Donna H Chiarelli Studio

Residential – Single Family
French Normandy Guest House  Greenwich, Connecticut
Architect: Charles Hilton Architects
Builder: Home Construction, LLC
Mason Contractor: Mauro Fidaleo Construction, LLC
Photographer: Nicholas Rotondi Photography
Photographer 2: Woodruff-Brown Photography
Photographer 3: Scott Francis, LTD

Projects were submitted by architectural and design firms around the country, and judged by a jury of their peers. Photos and project details for all winners: www.gobrick.com/architectureawards
 
Founded in 1934, the Brick Industry Association (BIA) is the nationally recognized authority on clay brick construction representing the nation's distributors and manufacturers of clay brick and suppliers of related products. Website: www.gobrick.com/703-620-0010.

Masons and The Software Revolution

By Jennifer Morrell

Almost six years ago, when I first entered the world of masonry, I was highly impressed with the different types of software available to contractors and project managers. Then came the rounds of estimating software, which really changed the way contractors do business – right there on the jobsite. And then, the configuring was done on a laptop. Today, it’s more likely an iPad.

As of late, I’ve been blown away again by the software ingenuity in our industry. This time, it’s a little different. Not only are software companies staying atop their game, but also manufacturers are leaving their footprints. Super-sophisticated applications (apps) for mobile devices seem to be popping up everywhere. The creativity is amazing. From Holcim’s Weather App that tells masons if conditions are right to lay brick that day, to General Shale’s new app that allows users to browse product colors and sizes in brick, thin brick and pavers, and then email favorite selections or final cost calculations without leaving the app. The innovation is growing by leaps and bounds.

Of course, we have the big, tall, fat, imposing elephant in the room: Building Information Modeling (BIM). The old saying, “Get on board or get out of the way,” applies here. BIM is prevalent for architects and engineers who are designing buildings. But masonry is not currently an option as A&E look at different available wall systems. But that is about to change.

But that’s going to change. Thanks to six determined and dedicated funding organizations, masonry is knocking at the BIM door. The Mason Contractors Association ofAmerica (MCAA), the National Concrete Manufacturer’s Association (NCMA), the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC), Western States Clay Products Association, the International Masonry Institute (IMI) and The Masonry Society (TMS) have banded together to urge software developers to include masonry in BIM software. To do this, the groups are working with The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), which is creating a “roadmap” that has just been completed. 

Masonry will update you on this roadmap in our May issue. Stay tuned. Technology is changing your world, like it or not. And, from what I’ve seen, there’s plenty to like about it. 

Jennifer Morrell is editor of Masonry Magazine.

National Consumers Prefer Brick, Study Shows

A new study shows that consumers prefer genuine clay brick exteriors on a national scale. Scoring highest nationally among all ages, races, income levels and household types, brick ranked number one over vinyl siding, stone, stucco, wood and fiber cement.
 
Regionally, brick ranked highest in five out of nine census divisions including the South, West and Pacific areas, but second to vinyl siding in parts of the Northeast and Midwest and trailed stucco in parts of the West. The study, "What Home Buyers Really Want," was conducted online last July by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Economics & Housing Policy Group.
 
New home buyers ranked energy efficiency as the most important factor - a key brick benefit from its exceptional thermal properties that keep homes warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Consumers also indicated how much more they are willing to pay for their preferences. Key findings are summarized in a recent Builderonline article.
 
“The study shows that home buyers trust brick to deliver on all fronts,” says Gregg Borchelt, president and CEO of the Brick Industry Association (BIA). “From its natural beauty and durability, sustainability, low maintenance, extreme weather resistance and higher resale value, there’s no substitute for genuine clay brick,” he said.


On a national level, respondents ranked brick highest at 34 percent, vinyl siding at 21 percent, stone at 16 percent, stucco at 12 percent, wood at 7 percent and fiber cement at 5 percent. To get brick, respondents reported they would add $7,500 in additional costs. Ranked by price point, brick topped other home exteriors in the $150,000 to $499,000 range, while vinyl was preferred in the $150,000 or less range; brick ranked second to stone in the $500,000-plus range, with stucco following in third place.

Even though adding a brick front to a house would cost consumers an extra $7,500 over aluminum and vinyl siding and $6,750 more than wood and fiber cement, the study indicated that consumers preferred brick 60 percent more frequently than vinyl and 4.5 times more frequently than fiber cement. And brick was preferred over twice as frequently as stone, which could be due, in part, to the fact that the study showed stone as having a 66 percent price premium over brick.
 
An earlier 2010 study by the NAHB Research Center comparing moisture resistance among typical residential exteriors evaluated genuine clay brick veneer as the highest in moisture resistance and dryness. Of the eight wall systems tested - accounting for approximately 90 percent of the cladding systems used today - brick veneer wall assemblies performed the best overall in controlling moisture.

Entries Open for BIA 2013 Brick in Architecture Awards

The Brick Industry Association (BIA) has opened entry submissions for its 2013 Brick In Architecture Awards, with a new Renovation/Restoration category and new category divisions this year. BIA’s annual awards honor architectural excellence and sustainable design nationwide that incorporates clay brick products as the predominant exterior building or paving material. 

Entries are due by April 30. To enter and for details, go to:
http://www.gobrick.com/EventsEducation/BrickInArchitectureAwards/tabid/7661/Default.aspx.
The 2013 awards competition will be conducted entirely online. Architectural and design firms from around the country can enter their best material to be judged by a jury of their peers.
          
“As a versatile building material made in America made from abundant natural resources, there is no substitute for genuine clay brick,” says BIA President and CEO Gregg Borchelt, P.E. “In addition to its unmatched durability and many benefits from its physical properties, brick offers aesthetic flexibility to match the architect’s imagination and desires, and is a main element in sustainable design."
          
As the largest and most prestigious juried competition of its kind, entries can be submitted in one or more of the below categories: 

Commercial (Under $10 Million) – New
Commercial (Over $10 Million) – New
Education – K-12
Education – Colleges & Universities (Higher Education)* – New
Health Care Facilities
Municipal/Government
Houses of Worship
Residential – Single Family
Residential – Multi-Family
Renovation (Additions)**/Restoration (Restoring) – New
Paving & Landscape Projects

*Includes residence halls & academic/administrative buildings
**Additions must use at least 50 percent new clay brick products on the building. Restoration construction must include at least 50% clay brick products, which can either be new or salvaged.

For complete information on eligibility, submission requirements, and judging, visit
http://www.gobrick.com/EventsEducation/BrickInArchitectureAwards/tabid/7661/Default.aspx.