Project Description

The technological know-how reached today, where almost everything is possible, have awakened in the work of some architects a willingness to explore the plastic capacities that the materials offer.

As the project teams are increasingly specialized, the architect once again has "time" to dedicate himself to the formalization of the building, namely in its most plastic aspect, where texture, color and light, once again become fundamental factors for the characterization of the work.

In the most recent works of contemporary architecture these concerns are very clear, from the work developed worldwide by the architects Herzog & DeMeuron, to the meticulous work of Peter Zumthor, to the rigorous conceptual and constructive articulation of Rafael Moneo, and even a contemporary approach to the technologies Portuguese tradition in the work of Eduardo Souto de Moura.

The concept of skin of the building explored in the 90's is not enough now, the will to know and master the composition material of each constructive element directs the working methodology of these experiments.

Herzog & DeMeuron use the expressiveness of the earth to build the Schaulagen Museum in Switzerland. Peter Zumthor studies the expressiveness of the white brick for the reconstruction of the Diocesan Museum of Cologne. Eduardo Souto Moura repeatedly adopts the traditional Portuguese technologies of building muraria either for the composition of dwellings, or in the composition of the public spaces of the Porto Metro.

These examples represent a transformation / evolution of the architectural conception, where the approach to the material as expression is the starting point for the characterization of each project. It seeks to find in each place and for each program the subject that best defines it, identifies the constructive technology associated with it, working with the most advanced scientific knowledge, in order to avoid the globalization of architectural language.

The choice of this work methodology is reinforced, when issues such as sustainability and energy efficiency become daily problems in solving each project, requiring designers to have a deep technological foundation and constructive awareness since the first moments of conception, since the design of the constructive system comes up with the first outlines of the project concept. Technology and construction are thus an important design tool.

However, this methodology implies a deep technological knowledge and, above all, a strong constructive awareness, so that, like a composer, an architect knows the constructive elements enough that allows him to compose almost intuitively the final form of the building. Master the matter to compose the form.

It is fundamental to "touch" the materials and to be able to sculpt and construct the shape of the building knowing each piece that composes it. This approach to the physical realization of the building requires a greater technological knowledge of both the materials and the constructive elements themselves.

However, the requirement of efficiency of buildings is increasing and compliance with all norms and regulations seems to be able to limit the freedom of architectural design. Contemporary technologies allow us to do almost anything, but buildings and particularly projects require almost everything.

It is precisely in this field of architectural conception that it is between the technological foundation and the formal conception of the building that this research work proposes to work, trying to understand the relation that the matter of composition of the building can have with the formal conception of the same.

In this research work, it is intended, through the analysis of the work of some team, to understand how this methodology determines the work process in architecture.

Research Team

• Bárbara Rangel Carvalho
• Vítor Abrantes (supervisor)
• Fernando Brandão Alves (co-supervisor)

Financial Support

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Stage of Progress

• Concluded in 2013