RASHIDA NG: Something Borrowed:Defining an Emerging Covenant between Architecture and Materials

As affirmed in the quote above by Alex Ritter, emerging material technologies promise a future architecture typified by adaptive phenomenological and performative behaviors. Modern advancements in material science have introduced an innumerable range of new materials that will continue to redefine the built environment. This lecture will interrogate the shifting relationship between architecture and materials as instigated by these material science advancements. Beyond a synopsis of new materials and technologies, it will scrutinize the possibilities that are proposed by the importation of material developments from disparate disciplines, such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, and defense. What opportunities are made possible through the re-appropriation of material resources borrowed from another context? Of equal importance, what inadvertent consequences may arise from the transfer of these material technologies? As designers, we are inspired by the high-performance characteristics, responsive behaviors, and ecological sophistication of the numerous nascent materials currently entering the global marketplace. Examples of such materials will be presented with the aim of revealing the potential for research-based design and material innovation within architecture. [visit] phillyaaiatechseries.blogspot.com aiaphiladelphia.org/comm_associates/ [contact] brad hubbard at [email protected] Center for Architecture: 1218 Arch Street Philadelphia