Architect Phillip Lühl has added a pair of extensions to a Modernist house in Namibia, using cement brickwork textured with the coarse fibres of hessian fabric (+ slideshow).

Lühl, a lecturer at the Polytechnic of Namibia, wanted the new additions to stand in contrast with the original 1960s property, which features smooth white-rendered walls.

To achieve this, he chose to build the structures using what he calls "bagged concrete bricks". These are cement blocks that, once built, are finished with a layer of cement. This is applied using a hessian bag.

"Bagged concrete bricks are essentially cement bricks, which are the most common brick types in Namibia," explained the architect, who studied in the Netherlands before moving to Africa.
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"They are not plastered, but finished with a cement slurry that is applied with a hessian bag," he told Dezeen. "This allows the brick course to remain exposed and allows the walls to be painted if required."

Located in Windhoek, the original two-storey property was designed in 1968 by architects office Stauch and Partners as a house and studio for an artist.
Studio founder Hellmut Stauch had trained at the Bauhaus, so the house bears many hallmarks of Modernist architecture, including concrete columns, slender-framed windows and an expansive balcony.

Over four decades l...