Choosing architectural materials

1. CHOOSING ARCHITECTURAL
MATERIALS

2. “The subject of material is clearly the foundation
of architecture”
William Morris (1892)

3. By simply choosing
different building
materials we can
create something
entirely different

4. In some cases Architects tends to choose the
Materials in early design phase.
• As it helps to determine building FORM
• Shape the NARRATIVE & EXPERIENCE

5. The decision regarding Materials, can arrive
from the Design Concept

6. Historical introduction of Materials
STONE Steel & Glass Metallic Surfaces Smart Materials
Before 19th Century After 1800s Late 20th Century At present

7. Stone as a building material
The connection between the
human and the divine
Stonehenge site, built approximately
2500 BC
Romans took stone engineering to its
highest level
Filippo Brunelleschi,
meticulously studied Roman
architecture and Gothic stone
vaulted systems
cathedral of Florence

8. Mies Van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion, where the
architecture is reduced to a maximum purity and
simplicity of plans. It is the marble, that brings
warmth to the place, making it cozy, even
An artistic
intervention
called “Mies
missing
materiality,”
took place in
2017 by Anna
and Eugeni Bach
tried to cover all
the marble with
white vinyl.
The photographs clearly show how
the disappearance of the marble
radically transforms the properties of
the place, leaving the building
dematerialized, colder, and aseptic.

9. Uses of Bricks date back to 7000 BC, which makes them one of the
oldest known building materials. They were discovered in southern
Turkey at the site of an ancient settlement around the city of Jericho.
The first bricks, made in areas with warm
climates, were mud bricks dried in the
sun for hardening.
BRICK
Bricks can be seen today at ruins of
Harappa Buhen and Mohenjo-daro.

10. The greatest breakthrough came with the invention of fired brick in about 3,500 Bc. From this moment
on, bricks could be made without the heat of sun and soon became popular in cooler climates.
The Romans succeeded in introducing
fired bricks. The Herculaneum gate of
Pompeii and the baths of Caracalla in
Rome are examples of Roman brick
structures.
In Victorian London, due to the heavy
fog, bright red bricks were chosen which
made buildings much more visible
Many early American
skyscrapers are clad in brick or
terracotta. It took 10 million
bricks to build the Empire State
Building.

11. BRICK
Types of modern bricks:

12. as a construction material has been extensively used since
Neolithic times.
MUD
Various construction methods
• Rammed earth • Pressed bricks
• Stacked earth (COB) Earth Filled-in
Wattle and daub method

13. The Great Mosque of Mopti, Mali.
Minaret of the Djingery-ber Mosque, Timbuktu.
MUD
As
building
material
The Masmak fortress.
Built of mud, it gives a
good insight in traditional
Arabian architecture.

14. is made from bamboo and was primarily designed keeping in mind the
strong tropical winds that sweep this area of the Philippines
The Nato High School in the Philippines
The Green School in Bali
is the school with no walls. It’s
one of the green schools in
the world where education is
taught in the laps of
environment.
Bamboohas a long and
well-established tradition as a
building material through out the
world’s tropical and sub-tropical
regions.

15. The Mivka hotel in Slovenia is another
example of a hotel and resort that is
completely made from bamboo
Bamboo theatre
during the Festival
of Vision, Berlin,
2000
World Expo
2015 In Milan
Iduku
Bamboo Bridge in
Elora Hardy

16. CONCRETE
Concrete is one of the most commonly used
building materials.
It can yield surprisingly diverse architectural
results
Advantages
• Ability to be cast
• Economical
• Durable
• Fire resistant
• Energy efficient
• On-site fabrication
Richard Meier's Jubilee Church. Three
concrete sails, modeled on the half circle,
are supported by a square spine. Windows
nestled between each of the slabs allow light
to fill the volume at varying degrees,
depending on the hour.
Santiago Calatrava’s auditorium in
Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary
Islands cuts a striking figure against
the Atlantic Ocean. a performance
space is enclosed by curving abstract
concrete forms.
This Architecture is a testament to
the material’s sculptural quality. For
the National Museum of Brazil,
Niemeyer designed what resembles
a planet embedded in the ground,
the other half of the sphere created
by a reflection in an adjacent pool.

17. Chandigarh, the utopian city designed
by Le Corbusier in 1947, was built
largely out of concrete. the swooping
sculptural form at the entrance
contrasts with the building’s linear
concrete columns throughout.
The Salk Institute, designed by Louis
Kahn in 1965, is perched on a bluff
overlooking the Pacific .creating a
symphony of geometry and shadow.
the Science Hills museum in
Komatsu, Japan, with a wavy
concrete roof that integrates the
building’s architecture with the land,
creating a structure that also serves
as a park.
CONCRETE

18. Metal
Steel has long been a standby
material for architectural
framework, but when it’s
recognized for its innate beauty as
well as its structural integrity, the
results can be awe-inspiring.
The stainless-steel exterior of Frank
Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall in
Los Angeles has a visually soft
appearance that complements the
building’s billowing, sail-like design.
Mirror-finished bronzed stainless steel
creates a warm and enticing exterior
for 18.36.54 House by Studio
Libeskind, a residence in western
Connecticut. The house is named for
the 18 planes, 36 points, and 54 lines
formed by the origami-like structure.
In one fluid curve, Zaha Hadid’s Building
forms a visible bond between two buildings
at Oxford University’s St. Antony’s College.
the structure features a cool stainless-steel
façade.
The Thames Barrier, a system of
ten steel gates designed to prevent
flooding in London, their fin-like
structures and reflective properties
make them feel like natural
additions to the river.