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Concrete is a material that has suffered through indiscriminate use, however the 90’s have seen a renewed architectural interest in the material partly due to the Jubilee Line Extension. This appears to have sharpened the industries' attention to the subject of finishes. Alongside this, the trade contractors have made significant technological progress in the areas of flooring, flat slab, framing and large span construction.
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Copper is a material that can be used in its pure form or alloyed with other materials e.g. brass, where it is combined with up to 50% zinc, or bronze where it is combined with tin. Copper used in the construction industry tends to be in the form of tube, strip, sheet or bar. Woven copper wire is rarely used. Sheet material is most commonly used.
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COR-TEN® is a weathering steel and was developed to avoid having to paint steel for protection. This means that it has increased resistance to atmospheric corrosion when compared to unalloyed steels. It achieves this by forming a protective rust-coloured oxide layer on its surface.
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Access to hard facts on energy, labour, social impact, recyclability, and the renewability of materials used in construction is very difficult. Graphs depicting comparative energy consumption of, for example, extracting raw materials or of processing them do exist. However, these 'facts', important as they are in signalling awareness, represent little in terms of the more complete picture.
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The fabrics we use in architecture - buildings rather than camping and expedition tents - can be categorised broadly into three application areas: Structural - almost invariably used to provide weather protection; External Protection and Decoration - e.g. solar shading; Internal Finishes and Decoration - e.g. solar shading, curtains, wall and ceiling coverings.
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Gabion, are 'caged rocks', and they capture the feel of non-linearity, and essential characteristic of beauty in nature. It is the non-repetitive forms of the stone - a collection - a collection of individual fragments from the same geological time tied together by wire. Even the wire has a pattern that the rocks interfere with, leaving it structured yet random - no two cages remain visually the same.
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It is still true that glass in architecture is more appreciated for its aesthetic value, particularly its transparency than as a dielectric material or as an information highway. Only in the past two decades or so has demand and consequently industry responded to produce new glasses which can be exploited in architecture as a truly dielectric material.
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Landscape is inspirational. Whether untouched by man, or tamed and exploited, the poetry of landscape endures. Even with the technological culture of the last couple of centuries, when the despoiling of the landscape seemed to pass without concern, there remained those with an enthusiasm for its protection and representation.
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Light as we use it in architecture is perceived, not directly, but through reflecting surfaces. Light comes continuously from the sun, directly or reflected by the moon; from lightning - the flash of light that accompanies an electric discharge in the atmosphere, or is man-made. There are some species that emit light through fluorescence and bioluminescence (firefly).
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It appears that man has been very interested for a very long time in the idea of creating intelligent beings or machines, most often in the likeness of man himself. It could be suggested that the essential driving force is man’s desire to be a creator, if not the creator.
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One idea of progress could be the improvement in the behaviour of man. But behaviour is measured differently in different cultures and within apparently single cultures. Another idea is that man's nature will improve, suggesting a future resulting, not from evolution of man as a higher form of animal into an even higher form, but on a progressive development through cultural evolution.
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In very simple terms stainless steels are carbon steels with added chromium. The chromium allows the steel to form a chromium-rich oxide film which inhibits corrosion and is self repairing. This film is chemically stable provided sufficient oxygen is available to the surface. The detailed metallurgy is more complex.
