New construction 41 houses and 9 appartments Sinfonia | Leidsche Rijn, Utrecht | Facade brick: Veldbrons Gesinterd HV WF, Navarra HV WF, Blauwrood Genuanceerd HV WF, en EF en de Teunisbloem WS WF | Paver: Ravenna DF — © Wienerberger B.V.

Symphony of bricks

architectum edition #38

Woonblokken Sinfonia, Utrecht

in The Netherlands

Products used

Terca Veldbrons Gesinterd HV WF, Navarra HV WF, Blauwrood Genuanceerd HV WF, EF and Teunisbloem WS WF, Ravenna DF

Symphony of bricks

Two architectural agencies combined their ideas of urban harmony in these apartment blocks and created façades that are unparalleled. The harmonious name: Sinfonia.

Diversity of colour, shape and pattern in The Netherlands

A love of bricks has been immortalised here. Two architects created two very different apartment blocks in an urban expansion area of Utrecht , whose façade appearance is anything but uniform and which are appropriately named Sinfonia. The lively symphony of colourful façade bricks was created on the drawing boards of Marlies Rohmer Architecture & Urbanism and Marta Meijer of Dok architects. The two architects worked together on the two apartment blocks for five years and combined their ideas to create a coherent ensemble of movement, urbanity and pliability.

Colours of light

The buildings combine a sequence of projections and indentations, small balconies, colourful façades, high entrances, curved sections of wall and rich details. There are a total of 50 residential units in the single, double and triple-width houses. “We designed our façades using rhythms, proportions and strong colours. That’s how we created these distinct characters”, explains Marta Meijer of Dok architects.

A uniform colour concept calms the ornamental diversity. Vivid shades of red, brown and yellow shine on the Sinfonia façades. Different coloured joints of various thicknesses were also used. Meijer used joints in the same colour as the brick, Rohmer worked with grey joints.

In search of perfection

The decision to choose bricks did not come out of the blue: “We spent a lot of time looking for the perfect brick not only from the aesthetic point of view, but also in terms of feasibility”, explains Marlies Rohmer. Using sample panels and a box full of clinker bricks, Terca façade bricks in harmonising colours were finally selected. Marc Beurskens, commercial director of Aberson, was involved in the selection process: “The great thing was that the ranges of bricks went well together. Furthermore, the selected materials were also available in English formats, which fitted perfectly to our vision for the brickwork.”

In addition to the facing bricks, the clay pavers for this project were also made by Wienerberger. The Ravenna paving brick in a thick format creates a cohesive calm against such a busy façade. Marta Meijer, architect at Dok architects, is extremely happy with Sinfonia: “I love the cheerfulness of the buildings; it does something to you. You can see that the apartment buildings are brought to life by their diversity.”