Draft — pending studio review
Practice · 4 min read
Why we still detail in exposed brick and concrete
Exposed brick and board-marked concrete aren't a stylistic default — they're a durability decision for buildings that get used harder and longer than most.
A painted or clad surface looks finished on handover day and starts needing maintenance almost immediately after — repainting cycles, cladding replacement, the slow visible wear that makes a five-year-old public building look older than it is.
Exposed brick and board-marked concrete are chosen for the opposite reason: what's installed on day one is the permanent finish. There's no surface treatment to fail later, which matters enormously on institutional and healthcare buildings that see decades of heavy daily use and rarely get a maintenance budget to match.
It's a decision made at the structural stage, not a finishing choice — which is why it shows up across the studio's institutional, healthcare and commercial work rather than being treated as an aesthetic signature.