Horbury Hunt Highly Commends the Musical Brickwork
In the recent Horbury Hunt Awards for excellence and innovation in brick craftsmanship, Sydney’s Newtown High School of the Performing Arts has received a Highly Commended notation in the Commercial category. The college has long recognised the need for a building to house rehearsal and performance workshop spaces. Years were spent on parent fundraising and lobbying of the Department of Education & Training (DET), but according to architect Tim Williams, as it gave the school community more ownership of the project and enabled him to consult widely.
The ‘wow’ factor definitely comes with the south and east facades where brick’s inherent modularity is used to trumpet the school’s role and values. “We played with the idea of the bricks almost as pixels on a computer screen, so the unit itself explores the whole concept of binary notation on the screen,” Williams explains. Traditional notation is also acknowledged including musical notes on staves and even a chord. At the lower level the building communicates directly with the stage of the Studio Theatre, the large music rehearsal space doubling as a back stage assembly area. A drama workshop, classroom and plant room are located on the upper level.
The base of Bowral Blue dry-pressed bricks not only gives the building a solid grounding but it also contrasts strongly with the dominant wall colour, Simmental Silver. The soundwave pattern is created in Capitol Red, projecting 10 mm from the wall face, while the lines of the staves are in Bowral Blue, recessed 10 mm. The placement of each brick was drawn by the architect but the on-site set out was left to the initiative and ingenuity of the builder and bricklayers. “They built the whole inner skin of concrete masonry first and then, using our drawings, marked out the entire pattern on its outer face,” says Williams admiringly. “So when they came to lay the bricks, they just matched the pattern on the inner skin, which was very clever.” The decorative brickwork wraps around the southern face, overlooking a new, landscaped entrance. The western façade is also brick with small windows with large reveals that admit light to the rehearsal and workshop spaces that are shaded by the ramps. The involvement of the school community in fundraising allowed them to place their own stamp on the building design. “At the end of the day, they are all as pleased as punch,” says Tim Williams. “They are so proud of it.”