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Gardenmore Green is a high quality social housing development located in the Dunmurry area of West Belfast, Northern Ireland. The scheme provides 14 new homes with associated parking, green amenity space and soft landscaping, which was designed and delivered by Hall Black Douglas Architects for Radius Homes. The development consists of a series of two storey detached and semi-detached housing typologies which reference and are sympathetic to, the surrounding residential context.
The client’s brief required a building material that has longevity in both its structural integrity and appearance. Brick was the optimum solution in this case, due to its inherent properties as a robust building material with low maintenance requirements. The use of buff brick as the primary cladding material offers a contemporary marriage of the red brick and buff render used within the surrounding residential context. Buff coloured mortar was selected to compliment the brickwork and is laid with flush joints to create a monolithic aesthetic to each dwelling.
Projections and recesses are formed on the elevations through the use of brick feature panels laid in 4 of 5 vertical stack bond coursing, projecting snap header courses laid in English Garden Wall bond coursing and cantilevered brick soffits. This variety of detailing creates a unique identity to each home and a striking visual impact from street level. The pushing and pulling of the brick work details also explores a sense of depth which encourages a play of natural light and shadow across each elevation throughout the course of the day. Grey recessed brick feature panels laid in a vertical stack bond coursing, wrap around the front elevation to the front door of several homes, adding visual interest and a sense of tactility to the entrance experience. The brick and mortar colour used within the panels were carefully selected to compliment the anthracite tones of the development’s windows and doors.
