The oldest known bricks were made in 7000 B.C. near the ancient city of Jericho. Glass houses and glass-and-steel skyscrapers may have been trendy in the last century, but the value, strength, and architectural possibilities of brick haven’t lost their luster in thousands of years.

In fact, in 2019, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said glass-and-steel skyscrapers “have no place in our city or our Earth anymore,” due to their lack of energy efficiency.

Which makes today’s news not just noteworthy, but good for the planet as well.

The Brick Industry Association has announced the winners of its 2023 Brick in Architecture Awards, the premier international design competition featuring fired-clay brick—and three projects in North Texas were among the nine Best in Class winners.

Judged by a jury of peers, the 2023 winners include a total of 44 winners in the U.S., Canada, China, Mexico, and the first winner in the Russian Federation. Those include Best in Class, nine Gold, nine Silver, and 16 Bronze winners, plus an overall Craftsmanship Award.

“Brick is a versatile material that offers limitless design possibilities with inherent sustainability, unmatched durability, fire resistance, and notable energy efficiency,” BIA President and CEO Ray Leonhard said in a statement.

Here are the three Best in Class projects in Dallas-Fort Worth:

TCU Music Center has won a Best in Class award from the 2023 BIA Brick in Architecture Awards [Photo: Louis E. Curtis Jr.]

TCU Music Center, Fort Worth

Architect: Bora Architecture & Interiors
Brick Manufacturer: Acme Brick Company
Mason Contractor: Wilks Masonry LLC

TCU Music Center has won a Best in Class award from the 2023 BIA Brick in Architecture Awards [Photo: Louis E. Curtis Jr.]

The 2023 Best in Class winner in the category of Education-Colleges & Universities, the TCU Music Center offers over 7,500 square feet of band and orchestra rehearsal space, as well as instructional facilities, faculty studios, and practice rooms that help TCU prepare the next generation of leading performers and educators. The heart of the new building, designed by Portland, Oregon-based Bora Architecture & Interiors, is the “intimate and acoustically perfect” Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU, a 700-seat state-of-the-art concert hall.  On its website, TCU says “the new icon to creativity is positioned to become one more jewel in Fort Worth’s cultural crown.”

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Dallas’ West End Square has won a Best in Class award from the 2023 BIA Brick in Architecture Awards. [Photo: William Sundquist]

West End Square, Dallas

Architect: Field Operations
Brick Manufacturer: Whitacre-Greer
Brick Distributor: Blackson Brick Company
Mason Contractor: Paver Pro

Dallas’ West End Square has won a Best in Class award from the 2023 BIA Brick in Architecture Awards. [Photo: William Sundquist]

The 2023 Best in Class winner in the category of Paving & Landscaping, West End Square proves that the brick at your feet can be just as impactful and welcoming as bricks that rise to architectural heights. Owned by the city of Dallas and managed and maintained by Parks for Downtown Dallas, West End Square is a neighborhood park for the growing population of the West End Historic District. It was designed to be a testing ground for incorporating technology in a public space to support maintenance and operations. New York-based Field Operations, the landscape architect and design lead, created a steel shade structure that wraps three sides of the park. Called “The Frame,” it activates the street edge by creating a diversely programmed threshold between surrounding sidewalks and the square’s garden interior. The frame’s major design elements include The Porch and its porch swings, an outdoor workroom, and an “innovation arcade” along the park’s Market Street edge.

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Arlington’s John Webb Elementary School has won a Best in Class award from the 2023 BIA Brick in Architecture Awards. [Photo: Parrish Ruiz de Velasco]

John Webb Elementary School, Arlington

Architect: BRW Architects
Brick Manufacturer: Cloud Ceramics
Brick Distributor: Blackson Brick Company
Mason Contractor: Accurate Masonry of Texas, Inc.

Arlington’s John Webb Elementary School has won a Best in Class award from the 2023 BIA Brick in Architecture Awards. [Photo: Parrish Ruiz de Velasco]

The 2023 Best in Class winner in the category of Education-K-12, John Webb Elementary School is located at 1300 N. Cooper Street in Arlington. The newly built school, which opened in January 2023, was designed by the K12 Education Studio at Dallas-based Brown Reynolds Watford Architects. Before it was even built, the school was awarded Outstanding Project and featured in the Fall 2021 edition of Learning by Design Magazine Awards of Excellence Showcase. The new school was constructed on the same site as the original one, which had been constructed in 1959 as an Arlington middle school and was demolished after the new school’s completion. According to Learning by Design magazine, the new school’s design focused on functionality and accessibility to common spaces, including a state-of-the-art media center, maker space, special classrooms, cafeteria, and gym. Grade levels were concentrated into pods with central collaboration areas.

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