Product Description

These days, whether you're designing a building or a toaster, a savvy knowledge of materials is increasingly critical. And keeping up with the constant flow of new materials, let alone their applications, properties, and sources, is an increasingly difficult and time-consuming task. Blaine Erickson Brownell, author of Transmaterial, known to thousands of web users for his "product of the week" email service alerting designers to new materials that are reshaping our world, has created this handy and affordable reference to the most interesting and most useful new materials now available. Transmaterial is indexed in multiple ways for the sake of maximum convenience, and utilizes the new CSI Master-Format 2004 product categorization system. With more than 200 materials, organized by category, described, pictured, and annotated with technical and sourcing information, this catalog is an essential tool for any architect or designer interested in keeping up with the rapid developments in the field of materials, looking for a source of inspiration for their designs, or just eager to get their hands on real materials in an effort to understand the incredibly innovative palette now available to us.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #173945 in Books
• Published on: 2005-12-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Review
... a catalog and exploration of some 200 global eco-techno hybrids, an emerging field that has the attention of designers and scientists alike. -- Fast Company, Nov. 2006

A must-have for designers of all walks. Transmaterial's attention to the increasingly blurred lines between art and material. -- res magazine, march/april 2006

Colorful and stimulating, and you don't have to be an architect to appreciate it. . . there is endless inspiration here. -- New Scientist (UK), Februaury 2006

Truly innovative . . . will be of interest to all involved in the design arts who seek a greater understanding of emerging materials and to all who are committed to expanding the traditional classifications of materials within the building industry. -- Journal of Architectural Education, Nov. 2006

About the Author
Blaine E. Brownell is an architect, sustainable building advisor, and a researcher of materials based in Seattle. Educated at Princeton and Rice Universities, he is an advocate of harnessing the latest materials expertise to transform the way we make buildings and products. Blaine is the author of Transmaterial: A Catalog of Materials that Redefine our Physical Environment, published by Princeton Architectural Press, and edits a weekly electronic journal about innovative products on the transstudio website.

Customer Reviews

A Great Primer for Innovative Materials
As a profession, architects and designers are obsessed with understanding and appreciating materials. When materials are better understood and better utilized, architects and designers typically produce better projects.

Recent innovations in material technology, design and use have come to the forefront of architectural design and have begun to question the very way in which we fabricate our built environments.

Blaine Brownell's recent book Transmaterial looks exclusively at recent material innovation in an attempt to "redefine our physical environment". Based upon Brownell's email digests and website of the same name, Transmaterial is a materials reference book subdivided into sections with material images, descriptions, and contact information for the products. The format is easily accessible, and the content is concise. Due to its ease of use and readability, the palette of materials available to the reader/designer/architect encourages current and future project introspection.

For example, why use just basic concrete when you could use translucent concrete instead? How about utilizing a collapsible, reusable textile brick system in lieu of a traditional stud and drywall partition for a project? The possibilities for integrating different, new, and innovative techniques are endless for almost any design project.

As evidence of the book's success, Brownell has already begun work on a follow-up to Transmaterial as more materials or innovations become readily available.

A resource such as Transmaterial provides more than just innovative materials for our use, but encourages potential for innovation for the environments that architects and designers create. While materials are a component of the overall design, the importance of their appropriate or innovative use is what can make or break a project. Transmaterial is the icebreaker to the typical office discussion of project materials as it proposes an alternate dialogue that is appropriate and desperately needed.

As a book, Transmaterial is limited in providing up-to-date material listings. Thus, the original email digests and website remain critical to Transmaterial's success.

While initially informative, Transmaterial lacks the necessary research and information in regards to material advantages and disadvantages, installation techniques and issues, and information relative to material costs. All of these factors need to be researched further for a respective project before they can be utilized for a project.

While Transmaterial begins a decent discussion for innovative materials that may be used for projects, it is up to architects and designers to take it upon themselves to carry on the discussion.

treasure of inspiration
Although some of the items listed seem to be artist's projects that are in no way commercialized or buyable, this book is a treasure of inspiration and a good catalogue of new technologies.
It can make your project come true. I don't know how often it is put out, but I can imagine that it is very quickly outdated.

it's like a well made catalogue
Not bad informations in it because it covers so wide range of architectural materials, but its depth of knowledge is rather shallow.

It might be good for a reference when you need something new but there's no special derection on it.