Customer Reviews

Ultra Materials: How Materials Innovation is Changing the World

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This is a book written by the folks who are tied to Material Connexion - a for-fee, for-profit group who have researched many materials that you can only access as a paid member. (And the membership is NOT cheap.) What that translated into, for this book, is that the discussion revolves around specific, groundbreaking materials without ever revealing what they are. So the sum total of information you can glean is NOTHING. Essentially, they state that there ARE cool materials out there but not who makes them or where to source them. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. There is another title, Transmaterial and its second edition, Transmaterial 2 which does an excellent job of researching the same materials - and then giving the designer or architect the information necessary to actually find and purchase those materials. Very disappointing and misleading.

I was looking for a book that really discussed how specific designers were inspired by materials, and while also including other interesting sections, "Ultra Materials" fit the bill perfectly. The authors interviewed a really impressive collection of designers including: Philippe Starck, Isaac Mizrahi, Naoto Fukasawa, Jurgen Mayer, Ross Lovegrove and Zaha Hadid, just to name a few. What ends up emerging is a book that really illustrates the integration of material technology and creativity.

In order to set up the symbiosis captured by these designers, other sections give a scientific background that helps to explain the categorization, development and implementation of different material types. Not only did I end up learning a considerable amount about materials but it also provided an excellent introduction to innovators and their specific and often groundbreaking products in the design community. An added bonus was that almost every discussion of a product, building or material was accompanied by a beautiful photograph. The authors of "Ultra Materials" were able to merge the science and creativity behind materials in relevant and engaging text. If this kind of synthesizing is what you're looking for, this book could be one of your best choices.