James Ormerod of Aliva UK explains how external wall insulation is increasingly being specified with brick slip finishes, offering speed, economy and versatility allied to aesthetics that chime with British contemporary architecture
It’s an undoubted fact that the humble brick has proven longevity as a stalwart among British building materials. But the weight of the brick on the frame, the shelf angles and additional supporting structure add to the mass of the building and to associated costs.
EWI and brick slip systems offer a mechanical fixed insulation, base render and mesh coats, forming a perfect platform for fully embedded and bonded slips to be installed onto.
Thousands of different brick slips are available to recreate the look and feel of traditional bricks in any colour, texture and size. This means architects can achieve the aesthetics of conventional brick but in a much more efficient way, following Modern Methods of Construction instead. EWI systems can be installed extremely quickly, making the shell watertight much faster than a traditional brickwork build.
Contemporary slip systems
Contemporary brick slip ranges mean architects can dream big and bold with this solution, with fired clay brick slips and lightweight brick slips. Architects don’t have to be bound to any one type of brick, they can have free rein when it comes to both the design and placement – with obtuse and acute angled brick slips also possible to meet a project’s specification.
Different colour stains can be added during the firing process or the final slips can be ‘distressed’ to create different effects, just like traditional bricks. EWI and brick slip ranges can deliver on scale and scope rather than compromised, ‘watered down’ architectural aspiration.
With ‘A-rated’ systems available on the market, clay slip or lightweight can be installed without height restriction.
Brick slips also allow more flexibility when it comes to the layout. Whether it’s creating the ‘herringbone’ style or varying the depth of the bricks to create a ‘3D’ design, it is far less time consuming and costly. And if there is a requirement for a particular clay brick – they can be cut to slips to suit.
Diversity is available on the facade market, which means architects are not bound by a restricted range of slips – thousands of options are now possible beyond clay.
Contemporary ceramic slips for example can be glazed not only to an RAL, NCS, Pantone and colour scan but also used to create bespoke designs from crackled to beaded aesthetics. The only limit is the architect’s imagination.
Stone slips are equally available in a vast range of colours and textures, with varying coursing styles and sizes that can be adapted to any design or detail.
A1 accreditation
EWI and clay brick solutions are also available on the market that achieve A1 accreditation; fully non-combustible systems have been developed to ensure the highest fire classification has been achieved based on testing to standard EN 13501-1:2019.
Sustainability
Brick slips are an eighth of the depth of a traditional brick, giving up to eight brick faces for the same volume of clay. EWI applied alongside the brick slips, is designed to keep a building cool in the summer and warm in winter, making the entire building more energy efficient.
Hayloft Point – an industry award winning example
Hayloft Point is an industry award-winning example of a bespoke EWI and clay brick slip system in cream, brown and red tones with contrasting textures. The system provides a signature finish for a new flagship student property in the heart of London.
The L-shaped building has a mix of 24-storey, 16-storey and eight-storey elements. Around 9,000 m2 of textured cream, brown and red multi slips in 15 mm and 25 mm thicknesses were used in total to achieve the required finish. The project received an INCA award in 2022 in the New Build EWI and Brick Effect Finish category.
21st century construction
The construction business has changed considerably over the decades, and life on site has evolved to become much more safety-conscious.
EWI and brick slip solutions remove many of the dangers associated with traditional bricklaying. Clay slips and lightweight brick slips – a slimmed down version – offer a solution to applying bricks to taller buildings without compromising stability. It is the perfect solution to the current vogue for building ever-higher towers in space restricted city centre sites, which need to take their place among older traditional brick constructions.
Using brick slips, architects can pay homage to Britain’s bricklaying heritage but in a way that fits with 21st century construction.
James Ormerod is managing director at Aliva UK