Once regarded a secondary consideration, in recent years, materiality has emerged as a powerful concept in architectural discourse and practice. Prompted in part by developments in digital fabrication and digital science, the impact of materiality on design and practice is being widely reassessed and reimagined.
Materiality and Architecture extends architectural thinking beyond the confines of current design literatures to explore conceptions of materiality across the field of architecture. Fourteen international contributors use elucidate the problems and possibilities of materiality-based approaches in architecture from interdisciplinary perspectives. The book includes contributions from the professions of architecture, art, architectural history, theory and philosophy, including essays from Gernot Böhme, Jonathan Hill and Philip Ursprung.
Important 'immaterial' aspects such as presentation, agency, ecology and concept are examined, deepening our understanding of materiality’s role in architectural processes, the production of cultural identities, the pursuit of political agendas, and the staging of everyday environments and atmospheres. In-depth illustrated case studies examine works by Herzog & de Meuron, Zaha Hadid, and Lacaton & Vassal, interspersed with visual essays and interviews with architects such as MVRDV providing a direct connection to practice. Materiality and Architecture is an important read for researchers and students with an interest in architectural theory and related fields such as art, art history, or visual and cultural studies.
List of Illustrations. Acknowledgements. Notes on Contributors. Materiality and Architecture: introductory remarks Sandra Karina Löschke Part 1: Presentation 1. Exposures Philip Ursprung 2. "Materials-in-fact" Sandra Karina Löschke 3. Material Splendour Gernot Böhme, translated by Anna-Christina Engels-Schwarzpaul 4. Materiality Matters Gevork Hartoonian Part 2: Agency 5. Material Antagonism André Bélanger and Anne Bordeleau 6. Historical Materialism Dijana Alić 7. Material Economy and Aesthetic Resistance Matthias Ludwig Part 3: Ecology 8. The Immaterial and the Material Jonathan Hill 9. Playing with Fragments of Modernity Sandra Karina Löschke: An interview with artist Melanie Smith 10. Self-organisation and Theoretical Reflection Sophia Psarra 11. Baubotanik Ferdinand Ludwig Part 4: Concepts 12. Bauspiel as Immaterial Investigation Matthew Mindrup 13. Recuperative Architectonics Michael Tawa 14. MVRDV Sandra Karina Löschke: An Interview with Jacob van Rijs of MVRDV and Moritz Mungenast Index
Biography
Sandra Karina Löschke is an architect and Director of Architecture Design and Technology at the University of Sydney, Australia. Her research investigates links between material aesthetics and technology in architecture and unfolds across architectural history and theory, and design research. Her architectural work has been exhibited internationally at the Venice Architecture Biennale and exhibitions in Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Sydney. She studied architecture at the Bartlett/UCL, the Architectural Association London and UNSW Australia.
‘In this timely collection, a distinction emerges between "materials" and "materiality" as that which the substance of building produces in intersection with its environment, users and representations. Exploring diverse conceptual possibilities - from Plato’s matter, to Bourriaud’s relational aesthetics and Böhme’s atmospheres - and through beautifully-considered studies of architectures and artworks, from 18th century country houses in Norfolk to contemporary installations in Mexico - these contributions are a rich and important resource for designers and scholars asking what material can bring to the experience of architecture today.’ – Katie Lloyd Thomas, Senior Lecturer and Co-Director of Architecture Research Collaboration, Newcastle University, UK
