Materiality of Architecture

Antoine Picon argues that materiality is not only about matter and that the silence and inscrutability of raw materials work against humanity's need to live in a meaningful world. He describes how people define who they are through their specific physical experience of architectural materials and spaces and offers an original perspective on the ways materiality has varied throughout centuries. Ultimately, he concludes that computer-based design methods are a new way for architects to control material resources, reinforcing the fundamentally humanistic nature of architectural endeavor with an increasing sense of design freedom and a release from material constraint in the digital era.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 23 February 2021
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

A new paradigm combining architectural tradition with emerging technologies has ushered architecture into a transformative era, where wood, stone, metal, glass, and other traditional materials are intertwined with pixels and code. In this ambitious exploration, Antoine Picon, an eminent thinker, delves into the essence of architectural materials and how technology may shape our understanding of them. Picon challenges the notion that materiality is solely about matter, highlighting the silence and inscrutability of raw materials that can hinder our ability to live in a meaningful world. He argues that people define themselves, in part, through their physical experience of architectural materials and spaces, and that the architectural discipline's paradox lies in its desire to render matter expressive to human beings. Through a retrospective review of canonical moments in Western European architecture, Picon offers an original perspective on the ways materiality has varied throughout centuries, demonstrating how experiences of the physical world have changed in relation to the evolution of human subjectivity. Ultimately, Picon concludes that computer-based design methods are not a departure from previous architectural traditions but rather a new way for architects to control material resources. This approach reinforces the fundamentally humanistic nature of architectural endeavor, offering architects greater design freedom and a release from material constraint in the digital era.

Weight: 280g
Dimension: 140 x 214 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781517909482