18) On concrete materiality in architecture, by Ute Poerschke (2013)

The study of materiality is very important, as it forms the basis of architecture. Finding the most appropriate material for a design is essential as it will ultimately define the success of the structure, as seen in Venice where door jambs rest on the stone threshold and cause bending movement that the stone cannot absorb as it lacks flexibility, which leads to cracking. Evidently in this case the material was not studied in detail and allocated to the perfect form.

When considering materials there are many characteristics to consider. Flexibility and rigidity are important components, which will establish the degree of force a material will be able to withstand. This reading also outlines that not only the architecture should employ materials according to its nature but also the entire form should derive from the material, giving the space a true reflection of the essence of the material. Materials should also be the materials must be judiciously employed, according to the qualities; there must be no excess on the side of strength or slightness.

Materials can also be understood in two respects; as structural forms and also material as surface. The effort to fuse inner and outer materiality is characteristic of many modern architects – and certainly not a feature of Post-Modern architects. For architecture right up to the present, it has been an intellectual challenge to harmonise the two views of material as such as structural form and material as such as surface.