COLOURINGS.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 18672, 22 April 1926, Page 4

COLOURINGS.

NEW BRICK FASHIONS. (By YV.H.W.) It is a matter for congratulation thai ~t last architectural tcrra-cotta is coin" to be produced on a comprehensive" scale, to cope with the new reinforced concrete constructions that are so rapidly springing up, and for the surfaces of which terra-cotta has been found so eminently suitable. It is a material that has been in existence ior years in America-ini {act it is the onlv building material _ utilised in some large city structures The smaller structures and domestn. -«-orU of a permanent nature seem to be wedded to brickwork, but it is not the same brickwork we eee in Australia or New Zealand, where each brick is the'most excellent thing that can bo produced in weight, in smoothness in '■uniformity of colour" (as though tluu were desirable), in its small quantity of water absorption and excellence ot service. , Architects have been craving for a change of fashion in brick work, and some have pronounced our brick "too hie " "too monotonous," and "too harsh" in its outline. Those who have visited America hanker after the small brick, with its "texture" produced by roughing-up the surface, and its wide, gapTng joints to emphasise that texture. As a matter of fact Australians have the raw materials, just as Holland has the materials and secrets of Delft ware, and Australian materials have produced a higher standard of excellence, from the brickmaker's point of view than that obtaining in America. Standardisation of bricks has been established in Australia for 'lO years, whereas American brickmakers have only just started, and have been successful in eliminating 10 out of the 3o sizes manufactured. In 1880 a white, creamy brick was produced, and no architect who valued his practice would dream of erecting a building that did not have a creamcoloured fence. Thirty years ago brinks had to be red and of a uniform colour. Twenty years ago the dark blue brick came into vogue, with dark blue tiles to match. "Whoever started such a dingy practice cannot be congratulated. Crave for "Refinement." (somebody said it was refined, and so architects followed fashion, for, if there is one way more than another to appeal to the architect, it is not to take recourse to common sense as much as to have regard for the sense of refinement. So we find the smartest houses were thus built in most sombre tones, with chocolate coloured wood of darkest hues to make the building darker still. Ten years ago, in America, someone set up the cry for colour, and this fashion has taken on like jazz music—everyone demands brightness, colour, and life, whereupon we find walls and roofs of homes with all the colours of the rainbow, blending in, or contrasting, side by side, until the homes look quite lively, to use a mild expression. This condition is not really surprising, for the delights of colour are natural from cradle days, when coloured rattles are given to attract the eyes and ears of babies. Always there is the exclamation of. joy when colour is beheld. Nor are the joys confined to babies and children, for no one rejoices more than the adult on beholding huge splashes of lolour in the garden, on the stage, in the sea, sky, or surrounding scenery; and if colour cannot be obtained nearby, people go great distances to the mountains or the sea shore in quest of scenery anil its enjoyment. After the dingy era of the blue-blade brick, it is but natural to find architects yearning for the multi-coloured effects that can be produced with the utmost ease from burnt products. Already they pay fabulous prices to liven an interior hall, frame a fireplace, or coat an exterior with Delft ware or other tiling. Now that terra-cotta, manufactured locally, will introduce the colour required, we shall no doubt see brickmakers once more rising to the occasion and manufacturing highly glazed multi-coloured or pearly-tinted bricks to suit latest fads and fashions. Many new members are joining the Master Plumbers' Union, no less than twelve being elected at the last monthly meeting. They were: Messrs T. Lawrie, C. Hansen, L. A. Gogol], R. llond, G. Cummings, S. Craw, C. S. Crawford, R. Simpson, A. Grange, Jos. Dann,C. Woods, and D. Barlass.