Material Strategies

Synopsis

In the successful Transmaterial series, author Blaine Brownell presents collections of materials that have the potential to transform the physical environment. With Materials Strategies, Princeton Architectural Press s next book in its Architecture Brief series, Brownell takes his research to the next stage by addressing how materials be applied to affect such a transformation, ultimately achieving design innovation. [Architecture has been shaped by the continual transformation of material technologies and application methods throughout history. Surprisingly, these approaches are rarely taught in academia or practice the former typically focuses on building-technology sequence, where students are given information about basic material properties and conventional methodologies. Architectural practice is worse: in the majority of offices, there is no established discipline or method for material innovation despite the widespread belief in its importance. ] [katharine, this whole paragraph could be cut if this is too much, which I think it is. ] Material Strategies is a primer on materials that goes beyond a mere description of materials. It provides insights regarding emerging technologies as well as their creative implementation, and presents a series of recent case studies that demonstrate successful realization of material-based innovation. The book is structured by a concise set of chapters based on fundamental material categories mineral, concrete, wood, metal, glass, and plastic. The introduction of each chapter describes the basic history of the material and its importance to architecture, a summary of previous building innovations and their technological as well as cultural effects, current environmental challenges and their future ramifications, recent disruptive technologies and their preliminary manifestations, as well as a series of disruptive applications exemplified by recent pioneering buildings. Architectural case studies are described with a focus on the significance of their particular contributions, and are documented in detailed illustrations. The primary attention of the book is on contemporary projects because of the ways in which these buildings deliver creative contributions related to present-day circumstances. Unlike many how-to manuals, the emphasis here is on unconventional and emerging practices. Moreover, unlike many surveys of new materials, this manual seeks to explain which new material technologies are most significant and why, how these technologies are being influenced by recent environmental concerns, the theoretical implications and conceptual debates one must consider, as well as the ways in which new material strategies are utilized to advance the architectural canon.

Copyright:

2012

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9781616891893

Publisher:

Princeton Architectural Press

Date of Addition:

06/24/13

Copyrighted By:

Princeton Architectural Press

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Nonfiction, Art and Architecture

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.