Product Description

As architecture programs throughout the country break out of the classroom and adopt the holistic methods of design/build programs, the need for a textbook that bridges the gap between construction materials and design sensibility is sorely needed. Materials for Design is that book. Students must be taught how a choice of material affects the form and look of a structure; they must also learn how inspired design can inject any material with true personality and zeal. Broken into five sections-glass, wood, metals, plastics, and concrete-Materials for Design makes a thorough study of each material's properties, followed by a series of 10-12 case studies of that material put to imaginative use by today's brightest architects from around the world. There is no other textbook on the market that tackles material details so thoroughly while presenting lush, inspired color photographs, plan drawings, and detailed architectural diagrams.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20292 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Review
Offers a well-illustrated compendium of the experimental leading edge... it should provide inspiration for anyone interested in contemporary building. -- Azure, Oct. 2006

The authors impart a thorough knowledge of glass, wood, concrete, metal, and plastic. A weighty tome, the book is a reference tool, complete with histories, production techniques, and each material's properties, along with case studies of new work. In short, this is the textbook that many of us wish we had in architecture school. -- Architectural Record, August 2007

Customer Reviews

Design magicians reveal their material tricks
If you've seen beautiful design and wanted to know how it was actually made, this is the book to show you. The case studies are the best of recent work and each has clear concepts, many color shots and ALSO clear construction drawings and details which are impossible to find. Some books only tease with images but not explanations, and technical manuals miss the beauty of design altogether. This book brings the two together. I don't know why this approach was not taken before, but it's what I've been looking for.

Materials Control Design
Architecture is an interesting mix of enginnering and art. All too often one of these is emphasized too much at the expense of the other. If too much art is emphasized, it is easy to design structures that cannot be built with the materials being specified.

This book is an attempt to bring the two together. It is broken down into five sections: Glass, concrete, wood, metals, and Plastics. In each category there is some description of the material itself, its history, and some generalized design characteristics. Then there is a set of descriptions of buildings built using that material. Each building is deacribed in some detail, photographed from several views and in most cases contain some line drawings of particular points of construction being used.

Obviously this is an idea book that can be used in the early phase of design when the broad concepts are being discussed. The designs in the book stretche the normal thoughts in design with the particualr materials. It is far more interesting than most as it also stretches shat can be done with these materials.

A great resource for technical info AND design inspiration
I absolutely agree with the two previous reviews-- it is a seamless combination of technical info and aesthetics. The book was recommended in my Masters of Architecture program by the Construction-I professor and since then it has been circulating widely in the design studios. It is a great resource for material detailing AND design inspiration. Wa-hoo-wa, Victoria Bell, great job.