An imposing boutique scheme of nine luxury apartments in Hackney, London, Bastion House is a modern take on a castle-like structure with its multi-faceted walls, tiered form and variously sized openings. The choice of Vandersanden’s Lima facing brick enhances this robust look while the brick’s light colour contrasts with the black mortar joints and recessed jet-black window frames and balcony soffits.

Bastion House is built on the site of a two-storey, post-war house on Farleigh Road in a predominantly residential area that includes a variety of architectural styles and a range of building heights. The new building is five storeys in total but its scale and massing are carefully considered, stepping back at both third and fourth floor levels in response to the surrounding built form, while also ensuring that the crown of a street tree, immediately to the west of the site, remains unaffected.

Goldrose Sharpe, the developers of Bastion House, embraced the challenge of carefully detailing the brickwork which, along with the building’s unconventional form, helps it stand out. Specially cut bricks were employed to achieve the different angled corners - most corners of the building are not at a right angle. Brick soffit panels were designed to surround the balcony openings along with brick-faced lintels to create depth to the set-back windows. Relief panels employing a different brickwork pattern were also introduced at various points across the facades.

When selecting the bricks for the project, the team at Goldrose Sharpe ordered samples from various brick suppliers. “We were exploring our options with light coloured bricks,” explains Maria Patton, project lead at Goldrose Sharpe. “The Lima bricks have this artisanal, handmade texture which is quite unique; they stood out compared to other brick samples.” The Lima is a stock brick consisting of a mix of different clays with a white base colour, grey accents and a sanded-coated and grained structure."

Goldrose Sharpe purchased the bricks directly from Vandersanden.

“Vandersanden was always very helpful with its customer service and the team there was good at explaining the technicalities of the brick,” says Maria Patton. “We had to send the bricks to be specially cut and made for the special angles and brick-faced soffits and lintels. They worked well to these variations.”

The Lima bricks and the impressive detailing ensure Bastion House makes a bold statement. “We often notice people who walk past the building touch the walls out of curiosity,” notes Maria Patton. “We’re very happy with the final result and the overall look of the brickwork. The use of the Lima bricks made a real difference to the building’s appearance.”

For more information on Lima bricks and the wide range of high-quality bricks available from Vandersanden, visit the Vandersanden website. Further details on Goldrose Sharpe can be found here.