One Embassy Gardens

Millimetre were commissioned by Ballymore to create a unique cast bronze screen for their One Embassy Gardens Development. The proposal – The Shape of Bricks, designed by Marlies Boterman acknowledges the origins of the client Sean Mulryan (Ballymore), who started his career as a bricklayer in Ireland. This installation is a response to the abstract, graphic elements of an English Bond brick wall.

The wall is a 6.6 meters tall continuous self-supporting, transparent structure at the centre of the lobby, separating its two entrances. The large windows at the front of the building allow the sun to project the shadow of the structure onto the floor and wall of the lobby.

To create privacy between the two entrances, the eye-level view is visually obstructed an opaque eco-resin volume within the lower part of the structure. This second layer shows the bricks as separate entities, without the mortar. The resin has a semi-transparent appearance, adapting to the changing light conditions of the lobby throughout the day. When sunlight hits the resin the corners turn almost transparent and after dark LED panels light up inside the volume, creating a subtle glow in the lobby.

millimetre developed the technical design of the final structure as well as an iterative process of protoyping to develop resin and bronze casting moulds. The casting of the mortar in bronze was patinated and waxed finish.

Materials

288 individual cast panels in PB1 (Phosphor Bronze)

Approx. 4700kg of poured bronze

30no. individual brickwork panels plus 10 flat panels

18 moulds

24no. finished bronze modules

6.6 tonnes (inc. bronze and resin)

500 litres of poured resin

3824no. person hours (inc. fitting)

2015mm wide x 8315mm length x 6162mm height

Partners

Ballymore Group

PLP Architects

Marlies Boterman

Structure Workshop

New Pro Foundries

Photography: © Glasshopper