Winners revealed: 2024 Think Brick Awards

A museum with a hit-and-miss masonry facade and a multigenerational beach house wrapped in textured terracotta have taken out top honours at the 2024 Think Brick Awards.

The 2024 awards program attracted 200 entries across six categories. Six projects have received awards, while 11 have earned high commendations.

Melbourne Holocaust Museum by Kerstin Thompson Architects received the prestigious Horbury Hunt Commercial Award for its playful application of clay and solid glass bricks. The transparency of bricks allows natural light to pass through the interior in the day and artificial light to radiate through the exterior in the evening.

The jury commended the use of brick in a single plane and its harmonious blend with the heritage building. "The textural and painterly qualities that are evoked from a single material are extraordinary," said the jury. "It was just a joy for us to look at. Both the external appearance and internal experience of the light and the way brick has been used as a light shaping material is extraordinary."

Burnt Earth House by Wardle earned the esteemed Horbury Hunt Residential Award for its extensive use of terracotta in the exterior brickwork and interior wall and floor linings. The burnt earth shade of bricks reflects the colours of cliff edges in the nearby locale. The brickmaking process involved extrusion and handtearing the surface prior to cutting, leading to a rough, textured finish.

"Burnt Earth Beach House is an amazing kind of experimentation in expressing brickwork in a totally fresh and individual way," commented the jury.

Elsewhere in the awards, a public library, two schools, a warehouse consolidation project and several residences were among those to receive accolades.