We helped architects, Metropolitan Workshop, to transform a backlands site in the nineteenth century suburb of Ranelagh, Dublin, into an award winning new street consisting of 20 modern family homes built with wienerberger brick. The objective was to integrate the contemporary architecture of the new street with the surrounding Victorian homes by using similar brickwork. The architects wanted to emulate the unique brick detailing of the existing homes but with a modern twist, while making sure the new homes would fit in with the neighbouring buildings.

To address the challenge, Metropolitan Workshop meticulously considered the choice of brick, comparing different brick types and building a selection of samples onsite. Two different brick types were considered: a buff brick for the three end-terrace houses and a red brick for the 17 homes on the main street.

After careful evaluation and testing, wienerberger's Marziale buff brick was chosen. This brick offers a classic appearance with rich variations in colour and a weathered texture. Metropolitan Workshop paired this with wienerberger's Jasmine Blend, a red brick with a lot of tonal variation that complemented the tones and textures of the Marziale.

Different brick bonds and detailing techniques were employed throughout the scheme to bring a variance of depth to the façade and play with light and shadow. Metropolitan Workshop worked with the Structural Engineers, CORA, to develop the brick detailing on site. Flemish bond was the primary brick bond, referencing the surrounding period homes. Eye-catching sawtooth brickwork was incorporated to add a textural depth to the façade with perforated brickwork to the rear to bring in dappled light to the rear terraces and glimpses of the gardens beyond. By carefully matching the mortar to the bricks and utilising raked joints, they further highlighted the depth and shadow in the brickwork. 

The choice of wienerberger bricks played an important role in the success of the Annesley Gardens project. The robustness, through-colouring and varied textures of the Marziale and Jasmine blend created a handcrafted feel, which is exactly what Metropolitan Workshop were looking for.

Sharon Chatterton, Associate at Metropolitan Workshop, said: "wienerberger’s bricks offered the strength, depth and beautiful tones we were looking for in this project. They proved to be versatile and robust, allowing us to incorporate complex contemporary details and achieve the desired design results."

The client, Seabren Developments, was delighted with the new builds and the project garnered significant recognition within the industry. Annesley Gardens went on to win prestigious accolades including:

• Civic Trust Award 2023
• Building and Architect of the Year Awards 2023 in the Building of the Year and Housing Project of the Year (New Build) categories
• RIAI Award 2022 in the Living category

The success of the project, combined with the quick sale of all the new homes, further demonstrated the client's satisfaction and the positive impact of the brick selection.

Sharon continues: “The careful choice of brick was fundamental to the creation of a contemporary new street that would successfully integrate with the surrounding urban fabric. We are delighted with the outcome of the finished scheme and the quality achieved with the wienerberger brickwork.

“We used a lot of different brick bonds in this project, including saw tooth, perforated and Flemish, so the brick needed to be extremely versatile and easy for our housebuilders to work with. The bricks performed really well in all applications and proved to have excellent strength, depth and tonal variation. We’ve got lots of other projects in the pipeline right now and wienerberger bricks are always a top consideration for us in future work.”

The client and architect’s satisfaction, the numerous industry awards and the swift sale of the new builds are testament to the success and quality achieved using wienerberger bricks at Annesley Gardens.