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This building features a distinctive white glazed brick. The use of brick masonry was conceived in large planes, offset by generous areas of curtain wall, a black granite base and wood composite panels. With the aim of using brick masonry in modern, crisp planes, the architects specified white grout to achieve a monolithic result for the brick massing. The joints are linear, crisp and well-executed by the masonry trade. A one-third running bond visually elongates the brick module. To further enhance the monolithic character of the masonry wall massing, the punched window recesses were detailed with 600-millimetre-deep white precast concrete sills. Masonry brick planes extend beyond the building face at the north end to create a strong arrival at the UBC Campus northern gateway. COURTESY MASONRY INSTITUTE OF B.C. Allard Hall – Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. Architects: Diamond + Schmitt Architects and CEI Architecture The Beauty of Masonry A discussion of the benefits of masonry in construction by Robin Brunet T aken as a whole, masonry occupies a strange place in the construction trade. On one hand, people love it for its tactile qualities, its warmth and appearance. In this regard, no other category of building material comes close to matching its appeal. And yet, masonry manufacturers and suppliers are constantly ighting to retain their market share across Canada. The reality is that it's often cheaper for developers to use other products for building projects. That said, 2012 inds people like Bill McEwen in a cautiously optimistic mood. As executive director of the Masonry Institute of BC (MIBC), he reports that the market for masonry "is de initely rebounding from some very tough times and in some cases returning to the kind of levels we enjoyed 15 years ago. Low-rise condo development is one reason for the resurgence." "Out here on the West Coast, even after so many years, our proven masonry rainscreen systems are still bene itting from the after effects of the leaky condo scandal," says McEwen. However, it doesn't help that other building materials are being heavily promoted by Victoria policy-makers. "Policies such as the Wood First initiative are unfair in that bricklayers, concrete inishes and other tradespeople associated with masonry are paying for this promotion via their tax dollars," says McEwen. "Such a promotion is more appropriate for offshore application, but as a provincial policy its ultimate effect is to trade one job for another." That aside, the MIBC continues to make headway educating professionals about masonry's desirable qualities and price points compared to some building systems. "To advance our promotion and education, we recently launched a series of new Masonry Details on our website," says McEwen. These Masonry Details are design aids for architects, building owners and students. They enable them to obtain comprehensive views for brick and block veneer cladding and structural masonry via a three-dimensional view of construction layers typical to any job site, and through the ability to zoom in and rotate. "This sort of thing has never been done before, and architects love it because not only does it help them come up with design ideas, it helps their clients understand speci ic design proposals," says McEwen. MIBC has spent considerable effort over the years promoting masonry as an environmentally desirable material, and companies such as Mutual Materials Canada have expended equal effort promoting products and selling manufacturing techniques as environmentally responsible. For example, Mutual's business development/sales manager Brian Cote points out that his company uses the waste heat from its kilns at its U.S. plants to dry its brick. Mutual also uses crushed brick from previously ired brick or waste products that failed to meet manufacturing stanMasonry p.18-27Landscape_Masonry.indd 23 dards – known as grog – as an ingredient in its bricks. Ironically, though, these green practices aren't recognized by LEED; instead, the program only recognizes post-consumer wastes such as brick and concrete removed from a demolition site. On an unrelated front, Mutual last year introduced Slimbrick, a new line of half-inch-wide thin bricks that are adhered to a structural wall rather than laid in compression. This is in response to the market being driven by increasingly thin veneers (for interior applications in Canada and exterior cladding in southern regions like California.) As one of the largest suppliers of concrete masonry products to clients in B.C. and the western U.S., Basalite Concrete Products serves the growing market for LEED and sustainable buildings thanks to its use of regional raw materials, local manufacture and recycled content. Basalite recently announced the construction of its new Dry Mix Manufacturing Facility, located in Surrey. According to Basalite's CMU architectural sales representative Shelagh Wright, "The relocation has been in the works since 2008, and the new plant will contain brand new state-of-the-art equipment that will produce Sakrete pre mixes, concrete repair products, grouts, mortars and concrete product lines." The new facility will also give Basalite the opportunity to supply custom, preblended products to meet the needs and requirements of customers. The new plant will be situated next door to Basalite's block manufacturing facility. Upon completion of the plant this summer, customers will be able to combine dry mix, block line, retaining wall and accessories into one purchase order and pick-up. As the plant comes on line, the Vancouver Marpole operations will be moved to the Surrey location. One reason for masonry's resurgence is the huge volume of renovation and restoration projects being conducted across Canada, as the professionals at Gracom Masonry Ltd. can attest. Two of the company's recent projects are the University of Saskatchewan's Academic Health Sciences Building – D Wing and a facelift to Vancouver City Hall. Gracom provides complete building envelope systems on a wide variety of projects – small through large commercial, institutional, industrial and residential developments, as well as historical restorations. It provides all elements of the building envelope, including masonry, metal panelling, EIFS and stucco, cementitious panels and thin veneer systems. For the D Wing project, Gracom's biggest challenge was matching new stone with the original random ashlar pattern split-faced dolomite limestone to the original A wing from 1948. The quality expectations for all of the building components with speci ic reference to size, pattern, colour and pitching techniques required Gracom to match up exactly with the adjoining original structure. JUNE 2012 /23 5/25/12 11:42:20 AM

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