Friends of Brick, Ringwood
2015 / RINGWOOD, NSW

Utopia is hard work. Why not automate it?

This is our most radical and most practical project so far. A big part of our practice is working out how achievable design can let us realise our most ambitious ideals regarding life, work and play. We’re always on the hunt for ways reconfiguring our environment can help us live richer and fuller lives that are also more sustainable and lower impact.

Friends of Brick taps into the powerful capacity of ecological thinking to recombine the elements of our suburban living (soil, brick, family, plants), contemporary technologies (hydroponics, automation), the embodied potential of our land, and existing trade and service markets (AirBnB, food, vending machines) to construct systems that allow the inhabitants complete self-sufficiency, maximum sustainability, high quality living environment and a passive income on the side.

“The Cave” (contemplative, idealistic, spiritual) and “the Light” (scientific, hands-on, practical) cohabit Friends of Brick. The plantations on top of the house are automated to produce food for the family while at the same time creating a paradisiacal setting for suburban family life; the structure and plantations are shaded and protected by the mushroom net and watered by the round god-shower; water from the automated system trickles down an internal waterfall; the brick vaults are structurally robust and create an atmospheric, nigh spiritual ambience; excess food produced is sold through a street-side vending machine, increasing leisure time for the family.

Friends of Brick is a physical manifesto that sees utmost value in introducing technologies into the home, new and old, to disrupt the idea of the way we live – to create a more sustainable, lower impact (sub)urban ecosystem that offers a richer, more fulfilling lifestyle for the inhabitants.