Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

After a century largely dominated by discussions of space and form there is now renewed interest in the material aspects of architecture. Backlashing against the digital and virtual wave, there is a fresh emphasis on the material qualities of buildings while, ironically, it is the information technologies that allow the architect direct control over what happens on the building site once more. The early chapters of the book survey the field historically and explore the theory of materials and form. These are followed by seven thematic chapters and a well-illustrated discussion of the future of materials with examples chosen from contemporary architecture. The book aims to excite students, and architects to take more interest in this often neglected aspect of architecture. It counters the tendency to think of materials as a 'technical' issue by addressing the subject historically and critically, linking cultural ideas to technical means.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

This is a primer in architecture, and its value derives not so much from its interpretive perspective as from its unprecedented level of visual depth. Unlike almost all earlier histories of architecture, which rarely examine their subject beyond analyses of plan and descriptions of structure, this publication lovingly presents the almost infinite visual and tactile experiences made possible by the materiality of buildings. Starting with a review of the materials, such as timber, earth, stone, steel, and glass, Weston (architecture, Cardiff Univ.; Alvar Alto) continues with their impact on form, associations with specific localities, weathering over time, intersections, and more abstract associations. Exceptional color illustrations appear throughout, with numerous previously unpublished views of both interiors and exteriors. A few editorial and graphic design decisions, however, lead to some egregiously incorrect or difficult-to-retrieve pieces of information: illustrations are not fully identified, no figure numbers link the illustrations firmly to the text, there are no subheadings whatsoever within chapters, and Bertrand Goldberg's Marina City in Chicago (1959-64) is identified as Morris Lapidus's Marin Center. Nevertheless, this volume comes close to superseding Steen Eiler Rasmussen's classic Experiencing Architecture (1959) and is essential for any library serving architecture and interior design students.-Paul Glassman, New York Sch. of Interior Design (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.