Modern technical facility blends with historic buildings via reinterpreted brick facade

A new brick façade wraps itself around the old substation as well as the floors that were added subsequently. In this way, the building retained the same height as the neighbouring “twin” volume, and the length was adjusted to provide space for future extensions within the geometry of the building. The distinctive brick façade has a uniform surface, where every other row of bricks is laid using traditional bricks while the rest are laid with extra wide bricks which sit proud by about five centimetres, creating a ribbed texture. The rows are swapped around at the corners, producing an exquisite toothed pattern. The expansion joints, which are a technical necessity, are celebrated as distinct vertical lines by the doors on the long side of the building. Gables and long façades have grate-like openings in the brickwork, letting in daylight and providing smoke ventilation in the event of fire. The construction works were carried out while the original equipment maintained operations.