Materials for Design [Paperback]

Victoria Ballard Bell (Author), Patrick Rand (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 1, 2013 | ISBN-10: 1568985584 | ISBN-13: 978-1568985589 | Edition: 1

As architecture programs throughout the country break out of the classroom and adopt the holistic methods of design/build programs, the need for a textbook that bridges the gap between construction materials and design sensibility is sorely needed. Materials for Design is that book.

Students must be taught how a choice of material affects the form and look of a structure; they must also learn how inspired design can inject any material with true personality and zeal. Broken into five sectionsglass, wood, metals, plastics, and concreteMaterials for Design makes a thorough study of each material's properties, followed by a series of 1012 case studies of that material put to imaginative use by today's brightest architects from around the world.

There is no other textbook on the market that tackles material details so thoroughly while presenting lush, inspired color photographs, plan drawings, and detailed architectural diagrams.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Offers a well-illustrated compendium of the experimental leading edge... it should provide inspiration for anyone interested in contemporary building. -- Azure, Oct. 2006

The authors impart a thorough knowledge of glass, wood, concrete, metal, and plastic. A weighty tome, the book is a reference tool, complete with histories, production techniques, and each material's properties, along with case studies of new work. In short, this is the textbook that many of us wish we had in architecture school. -- Architectural Record, August 2007

"Required reading." --Architect Magazine, September 2006

"This comprehensive guide contains 60 case studies of inventive materials. . . . Luscious photography is accompanied by detail drawings that are informative enough to make this a textbook." --The Architect's Newspaper, December 11, 2006

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press; 1 edition (October 1, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568985584
• ISBN-13: 978-1568985589
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #563,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Design magicians reveal their material tricks May 17, 2006

By RabidReader

Format:Paperback

If you've seen beautiful design and wanted to know how it was actually made, this is the book to show you. The case studies are the best of recent work and each has clear concepts, many color shots and ALSO clear construction drawings and details which are impossible to find. Some books only tease with images but not explanations, and technical manuals miss the beauty of design altogether. This book brings the two together. I don't know why this approach was not taken before, but it's what I've been looking for.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Materials Control Design August 19, 2006

By John Matlock

Format:Paperback

Architecture is an interesting mix of enginnering and art. All too often one of these is emphasized too much at the expense of the other. If too much art is emphasized, it is easy to design structures that cannot be built with the materials being specified.

This book is an attempt to bring the two together. It is broken down into five sections: Glass, concrete, wood, metals, and Plastics. In each category there is some description of the material itself, its history, and some generalized design characteristics. Then there is a set of descriptions of buildings built using that material. Each building is deacribed in some detail, photographed from several views and in most cases contain some line drawings of particular points of construction being used.

Obviously this is an idea book that can be used in the early phase of design when the broad concepts are being discussed. The designs in the book stretche the normal thoughts in design with the particualr materials. It is far more interesting than most as it also stretches shat can be done with these materials.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars book worth buying September 22, 2007

By Matt

Format:Paperback

I highly recommend this book. I am an architecture student, and I have found this book to be interesting, useful, and full of great projects. The book does a nice job of talking about the history, uses, strengths, and weaknesses of building materials. The book is organized by material with building projects that utilize those particular materials in an innovating and interesting way. The photos are great and the detail drawings are very nice to see as well.