Materials technology and practice

 

Despite the globalization there are still vast regional differences in construction expertise. Architects working in an international domain must identify the materials, techniques and skills available in the countries in which they are operating. Rem Koolhaas for example describes how he tries to ‘use the specific virtues and qualities that can be achieved’4 as a way of differentiating buildings in diverse locations. In much of Europe concrete is the structural material of choice. In the 1970s steel became more popular in the Europe and USA but recently, huge demand for steel in China and an influx of affordable labor has made concrete construction affordable again for medium- and large-scale projects. Concrete incorporating a super-plasticizing admixture, known as self-compacting concrete, is raising the standard of finish that can be expected and is allowing complex forms to be made more easily.

 

STRUCTURE, FAÇADE AND DECORATION

The Modernist preference for exposing structural elements is still manifest in many buildings today although structure is as often concealed as expressed and both strategies may be apparent in the same building. The outer skin has been detached from the structure so that the construction of the building is no longer necessarily expressed in its external skin. The architect is forced to take a position on the play between the language of structure and the language of skin.

The weight of the volumes is implicit in their size, but the external walls are rendered or clad in copper concealing the reinforced concrete and steel structure behind. The render, copper and glass are all a similar thickness. The external expression of the building is a play between the transparency, reflectance and texture of the different surface layers. The façade is the site of the most apparent experimentation in recent architecture, partly perhaps because it is often the only part of the building on which the architect is given free reign.

Rational expression of structure is hard to reconcile with the demand for speedy, low-cost construction. For some clients the façade treatment is the only added value they perceive they will gain from an architect’s involvement. The obsession with the external appearance of buildings means materials are often chosen for their appearance alone rather than their appropriateness. Building skins are becoming increasingly complex to help regulate the environment inside.

Monolithic buildings have a tangible mass that can be expressed, and appropriate materials can be used through the thickness of the wall for different functions. There may be plaster on the inside or better-quality bricks on the outer face than in the center. A wall could be having two façades, one internal and one external relating to completely different users, atmospheres and environmental conditions.

For the house at Newington Green architects tried to express these qualities. It is built of a single material, brick, very close to the street at the end of a Victorian terrace. A different brick is used for the inner and outer leafs of the cavity walls because the inner leaf requires a higher compressive strength to carry the floors and roof. The bricks are painted matt white inside giving a soft background texture to the interior. The white paint disguises the difference between the interior brick and the face brick, but the textures are different, and both are laid in stretcher bond, so it is obvious to the trained eye that it is a cavity wall. Externally the windows are flush with the bricks, but the front door is recessed with a whole brick reveal, inviting the visitor across the threshold.

 

EFFECT

This desire to create an effect hits at the root of the role of detailing. Architects make choices of which things are seen and which are not, what is exaggerated and what is played down based on what effect they are trying to achieve. Creating a atmosphere, mood or emotional response is in the end the point of architecture, the intent that raises it above mere building. The choices required to achieve the desired effect may well run contrary to concepts such as honesty or allegiance of form and function.  
The process of architectural shaping is composition, due to which it is transformed within the framework of certain laws of the nature of shaping.

The category “tectonics” forms the relationship of form and design and forms a composition. The design can be either a bearing or a bearing, monolithic or prefabricated, thin-walled and light or massive and heavy, homogeneous or inhomogeneous. Form, its structure and material are what tectonics manifests itself in. The combination of cubic forms in architecture weakly expresses tectonics.          Cubic forms in space are disoriented with respect to it. The uniformity of their structure gives the impression of their existence outside the gravitational space. The tectonics of flat sections and shifts can be traced in the dead nature (geological sections of the Earth).The mechanism that combines the means of harmonizing the architectural form should be mathematics. However, the practical meaning of the mechanism consists in creating architectural forms, introducing harmonization mechanisms, overcoming spontaneity, that everything created by the artist - architect does not obey the external, objective laws of nature, but is only connected with the subjective perception of the world In the end, everything leads to operations by the geometric laws of form — the position of the elements of the form in space, the configuration of the form, the ratio of the sizes of the parts — which are expressed by numbers. The specificity of the means of harmonization is determined by the different nature of the interaction of numbers.

 

The soffit of the cloister at the Novy Dvur Monastery by John Pawson Architects is made of curved plasterboard on a standard suspended ceiling system. Hardly the sort of material that sent Le Corbusier into raptures as he walked around Le Thoronet but it is out of reach overhead and detailed with such skill and in a way that appears solid. Using plasterboard was a choice that enabled the effect to be achieved within the budget. The vault may in fact have been impossible to achieve in say concrete without additional structural support. A rationalist might say that the building has been demeaned by using a lightweight, thin material like plasterboard where weight might be expected. It could also be argued that if you do not perceive it, it does not matter. The atmosphere of a space is determined by the physical properties and the sensory presence of the materials from which it is formed.

EMOTION IN FORM

 

It bears the character of the processes by which it was made and the way the construction was conceived in the mind of the designer. Only through a deep understanding of materials and construction can the connection be made between intent and physical form.

The chamber space, which is large-scale to humans, is the most comfortable - you can reach everything you need without unnecessary physical expenses, the entire space is in sight, you can easily and quickly think out a plan for further actions. A person feels complete control over the situation and confidence. Closed narrow space causes tension, a sense of defenselessness.

Any volumetric form structures the space around itself, thereby influencing other forms, including biological objects. Various geometric shapes and ornaments carried their sacred meaning, they were applied to their homes, clothes, places of worship, and some to their own bodies. Based on the results of surveys, patterns of the influence of spatial architectural forms on the human psyche were identified.

Rooms with a circle in plan cause a desire to dance, move beautifully, to be alone with oneself, a sense of harmony of the world. Dome and arched forms create a state of relaxation, a creative upsurge, a desire to communicate with loved ones, and higher spiritual experiences. The pyramid, cone, tetrahedron stimulate the concentration of internal forces for a jerk, mental work. Tunnel forms with a round cut cause a sense of harmony of the world, calm positive emotions, and with straight edges - concentration, tension, mental activity.

The set of values ​​of the characteristics of space can be divided into six basic emotions: fear, dislike, sadness, peace, surprise, joy. Thus, a description of the spaces that cause certain sensations in most people is compiled: 1. Fear - an open unprotected panoramic or narrow enclosed space of a tunnel shape with straight faces or in the form of a cube. Poorly lit or no light at all. Preferred colors are rich red, black or rich brown. The texture is shiny, spiky, cold (metal, concrete, broken brick, torn stone). 2. Dislike - open panoramic empty space, dense cramped space, multifaceted and unsystematic space. Cube or tunnel shape, twilight lighting. Preferred colors are saturated red, rich yellow, bog green, rich brown, gray. The texture is scratchy, cold, embossed, viscous, slippery (torn stone, plaster, concrete, slippery tile, clay, rubber).

 

3. Sadness - a cramped, dull, enclosed space, low ceilings. The shape of a cube, cylinder, tunnel, tetrahedron. Low light. Preferred colors - blue, dark brown, gray, black, white. Texture: shiny, cold, hard, monotonous (metal, stone, concrete, dark wood).

4. Pacification - the space reached, wide view, deepening in the relief. Dome and arched forms, plentiful soft light, calm, not flashy colors: green, blue, turquoise, violet, light brown, white. Soft, rough textures: wool, embossed wood, weaving, fabrics, clay, ceramics, bone, forged metal, brick.

5. Surprise - a high room with panoramic views and a clear rhythm of forms, domed forms. Uneven dimming, rhythmically falling shadows. Mostly blue, violet, pink, white shades, shiny and unnatural textures: metal. plastic, glass, mirror.

6. Joy - space to be reached, panoramic view, height, rhythm, dynamism, dome shapes, tall columns, arches. Bright sunlight, clear contrasting shadows or many small lights in the twilight. Colors: red, orange, yellow, turquoise, pink. The presence of shiny, fluffy, iridescent and matte textures (metals, including noble, fur, wool, mirrors, stained glass, colored ceramics).

LIGHT

 

 The level of illumination and the different distribution of light can visually change and distort the space. So, a room with the most lighted ceiling and dark walls causes a feeling of openness and depth, but if the lighting is stronger on the floor, the space becomes visually closed. The most open and transparent room seems to be with lit walls and a dark floor, and the most closed and enclosed - with a dark ceiling and light floor. A shadow in hard-to-reach places causes a feeling of anxiety in front of the unknown. The rhythmic chiaroscuro, a different level of illumination causes curiosity, a desire to explore.

COLOUR

Each color of interior or exterior can cause a person certain emotions, associations and feelings. They have been formed over millennia and are stored in the subconscious of people of different nations. The perception of color may depend on various factors: the environment, folk customs, the foundations of society and the individual characteristics of the body. Traditional associations were formed as a result of human interaction with nature, when the life of ancient people depended on the time of day, sunny light day and its inherent colors (yellow, orange, blue) meant activity and food search, and night and its shades (blue, black) were associated with rest time, sleep.

Red color was associated with aggressive emotional rising which required a large number of vitalities. The physiological component plays an equally important role in the perception of colors. Color is radiation with different wavelengths and varying degrees of reflection and absorption. Bright warm colors have the longest wavelength, and their perception requires the greatest amount of energy, which speeds up the heartbeat and respiratory rate. Cold colors have the longest wavelength, which responds to relaxing the body.