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S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 1 | 49 Masonry P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E SY BA SA L I T E CO N C R E T E P RO DU C T S; A R R I S C R A F T I N T ER N AT I O N A L Masonry stands the test of time and works perfectly to complement various building styles by ROBIN BRUNET M uch has been written about masonry's enduring appeal, but Gerald Martin, technical representative at Mutual Materials, provides arguably the most effective endorsement when he describes the product as "something that transcends all fads. I think people default to value and quality, with masonry being the solution to a great many building projects. "Brick is an example of a classic building material that defies age. It is universally welcomed and beloved, and in practical terms it works perfectly with other design materials such as metal cladding." Martin adds, "When we look at the outside of projects these days, we are see- ing so many new design ideas incorporated. All brick looks better complemented by other types of cladding, and here in B.C. developers such as Polygon and Bosa, just to name a few, are masters at pulling these products together." The fifth-generation family-owned Mutual Materials is a company that man- ufactures architectural slabs, pavers, retaining wall blocks, and other masonry products for its vast inventory. Of its brick offerings, Slimbrick continues to grow in popularity as it gives builders more options, including pulling the brick into the interior of their projects. Mutual Materials can also give brick an artificially aged appearance through the use of tumbling (with coating additives). "Our 'Mutual Used' and 'Westport Used' look like 200-year-old bricks and are very popular," says Martin. Martin stresses that his company responds quickly to client input. "Recently, a developer who was well versed in using our old brick asked us to provide the same line but not tumbled, for a specific project – and it worked out very well," he says. "Since then, our un-tumbled old brick was specified for a residential project in Victoria, and another developer asked us to modify our 'Mutual Used' by omit- ting the white additives for a project in Kelowna, and the result is spectacular. Those are just a few examples of our capabilities as a boutique brick maker." Alison Dancy, sales representative at Thames Valley Brick & Tile in Burlington, Ontario, reports that "Black brick continues to be extremely popular within the design community, and architects are mixing it with white brick and grey for multi-family residential and commercial projects. The manufacturers our com- pany represents also continue to provide a host of different colour brick depending on the clay they have available, and they are in vogue and very effective as accents." Age Defying Thames Valley Brick & Tile's advantage as a distributor is variety: it offers more than 1,500 various brick colours, textures, sizes, and profiles. With this broad selection and its customer service the company has become a trusted partner for many architects, engineers, designers, and spec writers. "We can pretty well fulfill any need for colour or texture, whether the product is fine quality brick, paver brick, thin brick, face brick, architectural brick, or tile," says Dancy. Arriscraft's Architectural Linear Series Brick (ALSB) has emerged as a popu- lar addition to the long brick category. Marta Zonneveld, marketing manager at Arriscraft, says, "This super-long brick with a weathered finish was initially developed due to limited availability of the product in North America. Designers were importing similar brick from Europe, at considerable cost. We originally introduced our ALSB in Canada in 2018 and then in 2019 production was added at our Georgia plant with additional colours." This enhanced production has made the product more readily available throughout Canada and the U.S. Arriscraft's Architectural Linear Series Brick features a slim height of only 2-3⁄8� and comes in random lengths up to 23-5⁄8� (standard full bed depth of 3-¾�). The distressed finish in these long lengths creates a unique and popular for modern designs. The Canadian product line offers four colours. The Georgia version features an even slimmer face rise and four additional colours. Given the consistent sizing and long lengths, installation is simple and efficient. As for authenticity, Arriscraft's Natural Process technology uses only natural materials (plus colour pigments) and replicates how stone is created in the earth. The excitement generated by the initial release of the linear brick was such that ODA Architecture secured an early order and used the impressive stone on the 123 Melrose multi-residential building, in Brooklyn, NY – part of a 123 Melrose, Brooklyn, NY Clinique Dentaire, St-Jacques, QC 7:47 AM