MATERIALITY & IMMATERIALITY
MATERIALITY IN ARCHITECTURE: THE MATERIALS USED, AND THE WAY THEY ARE PUT TOGETHER TO
MAKE, NORMALLY, SOME KIND OF ENCLOSURE. PART OF THE MEANING IS NOT EASY TO DESCRIBE
IN WORDS. IT IS SIMPLY ABOUT THE CONSTRUCTION ITSELF, A KIND OF SILENT LANGUAGE THAT
BELONGS ONLY TO BUILDING – POSTS RESPOND TO LOADS, BLOCKS OF STONE OR BRICK LOCK
INTO EACH OTHER, WALLS NARROW FROM THE BOTTOM TO THE TOP, ROOF MEMBERS OVERLAP,
LINTELS AND ARCHES MAKE OPENINGS, MATERIALS JOIN WITH EACH OTHER. THEY TALK ABOUT
LOADS, STRESSES, JUNCTIONS, THE CHARACTER OF MATERIALS, THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTION
IN A WAY THAT WE DO NOT NECESSARILY UNDERSTAND, BUT THAT WE RECOGNISE AND FIND
INTERESTING. IT IS ALSO ABOUT THE SENSUAL EXPERIENCE OF ARCHITECTURE – THE
TEXTURAL, TACTILE, AURAL AND EVEN OLFACTORY QUALITIES.
THESE TWO PARTS OF ARCHITECTURAL MEANING HAVE CONSIDERABLE IMPACT ON OUR
UNDERSTANDING AND EVERYDAY ENJOYMENT OF THE BUILT SPACES WE OCCUPY. PRESUMABLY
BECAUSE FROM OUR BIRTH WE BECOME AWARE OF THE MAKING OF PHENOMENA – OF OUR
HUMAN BODIES, OF STICKS WITH BARK AND LEAVES, OF STONES WITH LAYERS OR PARTICLES, OF
COTS WITH SLATS AND SUPPORTS, WE UNDERSTAND AND ARE INTRIGUED WITH THE LANGUAGE OF
CONSTRUCTION. FOR THE SAME KIND OF REASON, THE SENSUAL EXPERIENCE OF SPACE AFFECTS
US AT A DEEP, SUBCONSCIOUS LEVEL – AND ALSO IN OUR EVERYDAY LIFE.
MATERIALITY
''Even A Brick Wants To Be Something'' - Louis Kahn
LOUIS KAHN TAUGHT US TO UNDERSTAND AND BELIEVE IN OUR MATERIALS. IT IS CREATED FROM MONOLITHIC MASONRY, AND DRAWING ON PRIMARY GEOMETRIES WITH GREAT CIRCLES, SEMI-CIRCLES AND TRIANGLES SLICED OUT OF THEIR WEIGHTY WALLS, HIS BUILDINGS EXUDE A TIMELESS AND SOMETIMES SINISTER PRESENCE. THEY LOOK LIKE THE HASTILY VACATED REMNANTS OF A FUTURE COSMIC CIVILISATION.
IMMATERIALITY
IMMATERIALITY IN ARCHITECTURE: NEW MATERIALS, BUILDING SYSTEMS, CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES, GLOBAL PRACTICES, IN ADDITION TO DIGITALLY GENERATED DESIGNS, REPRESENTATIONS, AND FABRICATION TECHNOLOGIES, HAVE GAINED PRIVILEGED POSITIONS OF LATE IN ARCHITECTURAL THEORY, PEDAGOGY, AND PRACTICE. THE FOCUS HAS SHIFTED TOWARDS THE QUANTITATIVE AND MEASURABLE, AWAY FROM MORE INTANGIBLE ALBEIT FUNDAMENTAL ASPECTS OF ARCHITECTURAL PRODUCTION.
THE EXPERIENCE OF IMMATERIALITY ARCHITECTURE IS BASED ON CONTRAORDIDTORY SENSATIONS, SUCH AS SIGHT, SMELL, HEAR, TOUCH AND ETC.
NOWADAYS, THE ARCHITECTURE IS MOVING TOWARDS IMMATERIALLY. THE BUILDINGS ARE DESIGNED TO MOVE, SUCH AS A MOVING WALL PANEK TO CREATE A DIFFERENT SPACE WHEN IT MOVE. THEY ALSO CREATING A BUILDING THAT IS TRANSPARENT TO MAKE A SENSE THAT DOES NOT ACTUALLY EXIST AND EVEN PUT THE OUTDOOR EXPERIENCE THE INDOOR. GLASS IS WIDELY USED TO BUILD.
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THE PAVILION CAN MOVE UPWARDS OR DOWNWARDS WITH THE HELP OF A SYSTEM OF COMPLEX HYDRAULICS, DEPENDING ON WHAT KIND OF EXHIBITS IT’S INTENDED TO HOUSE. ACCORDING TO ITS CREATOR, THE WATER PAVILION CONCEPT EXPLORES “FLUIDITY, BUOYANCY, AND CONSTANT CHANGE
I BELIEVE BOTH MATERIALITY AND IMMATERIALITY IN ACRHICTECTURE DID MAKE US EXPERENCING DIFFERENT KIND OF ART FROM THE PAST TO NOW ALTHOUGHT THEY HAVE DIFFERENT CHARACTERICTICS IN ARCHITECTURE. BUT I AS FAR AS I CAN TELL, BOTH MATERIALITY AND IMMATERIALITY ARE PLAYING THE SAME ROLE TO MAKE THE BUILDING FUNCTIONABLE AND EFFECTIVENESS.
IF I AM THE FORTH PERSON IN THE ARTICLE, I MIGHT HAVE QUESTIONED MYSELF WHY DON’T WE USE THE TRADITIONAL RAW MATERIAL IN THE IMMATERIALITY ARCHITECTURE? BUT WHY WE HAVE TO STATE SO CLEAR TO SEPARATE THEM UP? IT MUST BE GREAT TO SEE THE NATURAL MATERIALS ARE USED IN THE CONTEMPORARY BUILDING THAT MAKES US THE EMBRACE WITH THE NATURAL SENSES. IT WILL BE A WIN WIN..