The Importance Of Material Investigations In The Context Of The Architectural Design Studio Three Case Studies

The teaching of architectural design is greatly enriched by a pedagogy which promotes the rigorous apprehension of the knowledge of materials. Students who directly engage the physical, tectonic and constructional limits of a range of building materials are successful in developing advanced designs which demonstrate an understanding of architectural characteristics such as measure, weight, structure and texture. This paper offers as evidence the results of three different design exercises undertaken in the context of a design studio, each of which problematized the issue of architectural materials. The first was concerned with the exclusive use of concrete in the design of a large scale public building; the second was directed at the use of traditional building materials for producing material studies with innovative surficial manipulations and tectonic joints; and the last was defined by the adoption of a single material in the construction of a full scale design-build installation. Fig 1. Material Study; insertion and compression of a sheet of galvanized metal within the edge of a solid plank of maple. Fig. 2 Material Study; rolled and polished bent steel plate. Fig 3 Detail of Paper Tube Installation; horizontally stacked hollow cardboard tubes. Fig. 4 Detail of Paper Tube Installation: vertically arranged hollow cardboard tubes. P ge 11303.2