The fifth and final instalment of our annual trends package – which explores the colours and materials that will take centre stage in the coming year – sees the humble brick undergo a renaissance.

Designers are finding innovative ways to make bricks look fresh. With firms like Herzog & de Meuron rediscovering the material’s beauty, the oldest form of architecture is enjoying a revival.

1 Vitra Schaudepot
The latest addition to Vitra Design Museum’s Weil am Rhein campus of architectural marvels is Herzog & de Meuron’s gallery and archive. The Swiss firm used the simple shape of a shed and clad the facade and plaza in red cored bricks hand-split on-site. herzogdemeuron.com, vitra.com

2 Primal Pottery Project
Danish designer Ole Jensen took inspiration from the dawn of pottery, crafting primal forms in red clay and animating them with anatomical parts including legs and ears.
olejensendesign.com

3 Aesop Bucktown
Architect Norman Kelley’s Aesop boutique in Chicago brings the outside inside via walls and floors lined in nearly 10,000 reclaimed bricks, evoking city streets and grids. normankelley.us

4 Fabrik
Conceived as a brise-soleil cladding that can be draped “like fondant icing” over any structure, Shildan Group’s Fabrik is a stainless steel mesh embedded with brick-shaped panels in a range of materials, including terracotta. shildan.com

5 Kunstmuseum Basel Extension
Architecture firm Christ & Gantenbein’s extension to the Basel art museum features a brick and LED frieze, designed in collaboration with IArt. christgantenbein.com