Material Territories features investigations of innovative material applications in contemporary architecture that disrupt conventional thinking about material processes, design, and construction. The essays were contributed by the following students for the graduate seminar Arch 5541: Material Strategies, led by Blaine Brownell at the University of Minnesota School of Architecture in 2009 and 2010: Solomon Atta, Justin Berken, Andrew Blaisdell, Skip Carlson, Peter Costanzo, Katy Dale, Nate Dodge, Molly Eagen, Josh Ekstrand, Jennifer Garman, Tony Harrington, Aric Larson, Mark La Venture, Peter Leahy, Alison Markowitz Chan, Engy Michael, Jack Northrup, Tim Ogren, Lane Warren Rapson, Nathan Roisen, Britt Schwager, Greg Schwartz, Piseth Tep, James Thompson, Elizabeth Turner, Allison Verdoorn, and Ahti Westphal.
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Transmaterial- Woven Stone April 27, 2012Woven Stone is part of the ASI Specialty Products Magna Mosaic Collection. Earth tones combined with dimensional, geometric features create a powerful and sculptured look, lending an artistic element to any space. The continuous, controlled texture of Woven Stone creates a sense of movement, suitable for the most modern of interiors, including retail, hospit […]
- CarbonCure April 20, 2012CarbonCure is a precast concrete technology developed to sequester carbon dioxide. The CarbonCure Block System has been installed across North America at concrete manufacturing facilities to store CO2 within concrete masonry units during the production process, permanently locking away the greenhouse gas in the form of synthetic limestone. CO2 is injected in […]
- Terrazzo Lumina April 6, 2012Terrazzo Lumina Slabs and Tiles are refined concrete surfaces designed to propate and emit light. Illumination travels within the concrete via embedded light-guides and is emitted in pixelated form. The manufacturing process is quite flexible and various geometries and configurations of light terminals are possible. The placement of the light source relative […]
- Coco Tiles March 30, 2012Made from reclaimed coconut shells, low-VOC resins and sustainably-harvested wood backer material, Kirei Coco Tiles may be used as decorative tiles or panels both horizontally and vertically. Featuring multiple pattern and color combinations and available in light, dark and mixed textures, the coconut shell tiles create a variety of surfaces and enhance the […]
- Mercury Glass March 16, 2012Silvered glass “Mercury Glass” was invented in the nineteenth century as a decorative substitute for more expensive silver tableware. Where traditional Mercury Glass has a thin glass wall, however, Suzan Etkin Enterprises creates hand blown silvered glass with thick, undulating walls and deposits a film of pure silver into the vessel interior. The thick, und […]
- Woven Stone April 27, 2012
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Mind & Matter
- The Importance of Industrial Hothouses May 15, 2012Image courtesy of The Economist The topics of digital fabrication and advanced manufacturing are nothing new, but a recent report in The Economist—which highlights these trends under the sweeping theme of "The Third Industrial Revolution"—elucidates their roles within a broader economic context than the one in which they are typically discussed.On […]
- A Tale of Two Materials (Exhibits) May 10, 2012A glimpse at the material sample room in Hello Materials, at the Danish Design Center. While in Copenhagen for the Danish Architecture Center symposium and exhibition "Material World," I also had a chance to visit a concurrent exhibit focused on materials at the Danish Design Center. Maria Hørmann, a project manager in the Design & Innovation […]
- A Visit to the Material World May 8, 2012Material World exhibit on opening night. Photo courtesy of the Danish Architecture Center. I recently had the opportunity to give a talk at the Danish Architecture Center in a symposium connected to "Material World," a new exhibit on emerging and innovative materials for architecture. The exhibit was curated by DAC and the progressive Copenhagen d […]
- The Age of the Pavilion? May 3, 2012Netscape Pavilion by Oyler Wu Collaborative, 2011 Every design field has its version of racing. In the automotive industry, racing plays an important role not only in providing a venue for competition, but also in testing bleeding-edge ideas. The catwalk is the fashion industry's form of racing, for example. In architecture, it's the pavilion.This […]
- A Glipse Into the Future of Light May 1, 2012"I.Rain" OLED system by Thierry Gaugain, 2012 Although they are not yet widely available to the consumer, Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) represent a promising imminent future for lighting. OLED technology, which is based on an electroluminescent organic material, possesses many notable characteristics—including a 20,000-hour bulb life, negl […]
- A Practical Use for Oobleck April 26, 2012Students fill a pothole with non-Newtonian fluid. Photo: Lisa DeJong, The Plain Dealer Remember playing with oobleck in science lab? The strange material that can shift between liquid and solid properties, called a non-Newtonian fluid, is incredibly simple to make out of cornstarch and water. It exhibits liquid properties when moved slowly, but becomes stif […]
- Terraforming with Paper April 24, 2012Daniele Papuli, Cartoframma, 2011 One proven method of producing provocative art installations is through a process of material assemblage. Artists like Tara Donovan and Tokujin Yoshioka have received accolades for creating large, immersing pieces resulting from the painstaking aggregation of thousands of self-similar objects like fishing line, tissue, stra […]
- Making Trains Lighter April 19, 2012A train diesel engine housing made of a polyurethane-based composite. Image by Fraunhofer ICT. The path to resouce efficiency can take many directions. In the transportation sector, lightness rules. Materials such as metals are being replaced by lighter-weight polymer composites in train and car bodies, for example, because of the fuel savings that result. […]
- The Importance of Industrial Hothouses May 15, 2012
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Matter in the Floating World
- The Fluidity of FabricA conversation with Reiko Sudo, Nuno Corporation Cofounder and artistic director of Nuno, Reiko Sudo has propelled traditional Japanese textiles into an unlikely realm. Although skilled in time-honored methods of fabric weaving and dyeing, Sudo also seeks to upset safe conventions in her craft, […]
- The Future in a Tiny SphereOnline Exclusive: A conversation with Yoshinobu Tsujikawa, Kyosemi Corporation. Japan currently leads the world in solar power technology. Japan not only produces half the total solar cells made in the world, it also exports 30% of these cells, with expected demand […]
- Connective TissueA conversation with Shuhei Endo, Shuhei Endo Architect Institute. For Shuhei Endo, continuity is everything. In his architecture, he strives to make connections between inside and outside, large and small, space and material, and gesture and form. Inspired by the […]
- The Sound of MaterialA conversation with Masayo Ave, MasayoAve creation. Masayo Ave is an embodiment of cultural and disciplinary synthesis. One of Japan’s most intriguing design exports, Ave has practiced in Japan and Europe, and she brings expertise in architecture, product design, landscape, […]
- The Fluidity of Fabric
