Materials for Architectural Design
2006
By Victoria Ballard Bell

Material selection is one of the most significant decisions an architect must make, yet it is often not addressed at the beginning of the design process. Likewise, students are typically taught about material and design as if they were unrelated. With the advent of integrated design/build programs, however, the relationship between a project's aesthetics and its materiality has never been more important." "Materials for Architectural Design provides the foundation for a strong design sensibility intertwined with material knowledge. Divided into five sections - glass, concrete, wood, metal and plastic - Materials for Architectural Design makes a thorough study of each material's properties, history, permutations and production techniques. Sixty case studies by today's most inventive architects from around the world - including Baumschlager + Eberle, Sean Godsell, Werner Sobek and ARO - show these materials put to imaginative use, illustrating how their application informed each building's ultimate form and structure.