Elevating a project with custom-designed bricks

Stonemasons have been crafting bricks in New Zealand since the early 1840s. Requiring quality clay, craftsmanship and expert firing, individual bricks were handmade with clay and water, pressed into a mould.

Technology has come a long way, though, and today, even custom bricks can be made.

The team at Canterbury Clay Bricks believes that “design should always be about pushing normal boundary lines and challenging the status quo, creating unique and timeless buildings for everyone to enjoy”.

“It’s about not looking at the fashion of the time, but looking at what the building will be like in 10 or 100 years’ time – the true testament of a brick building,” adds Canterbury Clay Bricks’ Richard Thomas.

The Christchurch-based company offers a custom brick service to help with this.

Allowing you to work outside the box, there are various colours, sizes and textures to choose from – design boundaries can be pushed to create a brick perfectly suited for an individual project.

“Generally, we start off with an idea from the architect with what they’re trying to achieve,” says Richard.

Often provided an image to reference, the Canterbury Clay Bricks team will then check the feasibility of the design.

With the nature of bricks, formed by clay with the addition of minerals and materials for added texture, each piece is unique – meaning there can be limitations: “We can’t always create exactly what’s in someone’s mind, or in the photo they’ve shown us. It’s an evolving process where we will get the design close to what they’ve been inspired by.”

Most of the time, though, when the design is possible, the results speak for themselves.

“We’ve just completed a project in Christchurch that had about 25 different types of brick in the one building, with bricks external and internal. There are a few builds at the moment that have curved bricks for the column, so some people are really pushing the barrel.”

With curved and irregular-shaped bricks, it’s important for a skilled tradesperson to do the job.

This is where a collaborative approach is recommended, says Richard: “We like to have a discussion with the bricklayer because they are part of achieving the overall look. So where possible, it’s good to have that prior discussion. The ideal scenario is to have that engagement early on in the design stage between ourselves, the architect, and the bricklayer.”

Canterbury Clay Bricks works on large commercial and residential projects, with at least 5,000 bricks usually made for each. In most cases, it is possible to make smaller quantities and for replacement bricks further down the track when needed.

Find inspiration for your custom brick from Canterbury Clay Bricks’ portfolio of projects on ArchiPro.

Words by Cassie Birrer