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MATERIALS AND ELEMENTS 2

MATERIAL SELECTION

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MATERIAL SELECTION

• INTRODUCTION– Material Selection should begin in the

early stages of Research – Having analysed existing structure and

forms of construction, style, precedents etc we are in a position to come to conclusions and make major decisions about our design and concept strategy/direction/development with respect to the design problem in hand

– Selection of appropriate materials is an integral part of this process

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MATERIAL SELECTION– In any given circumstance a short list of

widely accepted materials will come to mind for a particular building type

– Unfortunately making a selection of the specific material for a particular purpose is often a matter of common usage, personal preference, or habit

– This leads to unimaginative or cliché selections, neglecting the less familiar possibilities which could offer real advantages

– Worse, mistakes happen with respect to performance

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MATERIAL SELECTION

– Most of the most common complaints about interior projects relate to materials that fail in one way or another

• Breakage (Structurally deficient for intended purpose)

• Wear and Tear (Inappropriate material for intended job)

• Attraction of dirt• Hard to clean and maintain• Aesthetically inappropriate

– All avoidable problems

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MATERIAL SELECTION

– EVALUATING MATERIALS– As part of the Research process with respect

to materials, checklists are enormously helpful in guarding against the problems mentioned

– We have already discussed the issue of ‘Design Quality’ and established that assessment includes testing against 4 pieces of primary criteria all closely interconnected

» Function» Structure» Materials» Aesthetics

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MATERIAL SELECTION

– Further with respect to Functional Criteria it is important to keep in mind

• Primary criteria: – Suitability to a basic utilitarian purpose

• Secondary criteria: – Durability in anticipated use– Ease of Maintenance– Resistance to damage and vandalism– Safety characteristic (Accidents, Fire)– Acoustical performance

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MATERIAL SELECTION

– With respect to Aesthetic Criteria• The Availability of desired natural or applied

colours• Textures• Possibilities of pattern• Visual suitability to intended function

– Economic Criteria is also most important• First Cost• Lifecycle or Lifetime costs in relation to expected

durability and estimated cost of maintenance, cleaning, repair and future replacement

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MATERIAL SELECTION– Materials are usually chosen to satisfy their

primary role• For example

– A floor material to be practical to walk on– A window material to allow light in– A door material to provide closure

– Problems are most likely to occur with secondary criteria if the focus is on primary function and appearance alone so:

– The floor material may become slippery and dangerous when wet

– A wall surface my mark easily and be hard to clean

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MATERIAL SELECTION– Because these matters are interrelated in

complex ways, judgement and selection is difficult

– Designers must be alert to all the issues, and have a responsibility to develop an extensive knowledge and understanding about as wide a range of materials as possible and how they perform in use

– Different design problems will require juggling and prioritising selection criteria, the desired appearance may conflict with the material’s functional practicality or cost for example

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MATERIAL SELECTION– Fire safety may be of minor importance in a

one-story residence but of prime importance in a high rise office or hotel

– The impact of cost will vary with available budget, whilst lifetime costs will weigh more heavily on a project planned for long term use as opposed to short term use

– Vandalism, is a factor in public spaces mainly in urban centers, but rarely impinges on a private home

– Acoustical qualities may be vital in a concert hall, significant in an office or home but of little importance in a shopping mall

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MATERIAL SELECTION

– Durability may influence aesthetic values, some materials age and wear in a visually acceptable way (wood, wool, natural leather) others become more and more unattractive as they age and wear (synthetics)

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MATERIAL SELECTION– MATERIALS IN THEIR SETTING– Along with the practical matters involved in

material selection there are a whole range of intangibles which affect the concept of appropriateness

– The impacts of climate, regional traditions and location maybe strong influences

• In the Mediterranean or other subtropical location rough white plaster walls, tile floors and wood beamed ceilings are commonplace

• Austerely simple forms and natural colours suggest Japan

• A country cottage or farmhouse calls for material Design Decisions different from those customary for a town house or city apartment

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MATERIAL SELECTION

– Also there is a connection between suitablity and issues of Formality versus Informality

• Dark wood paneling has an air of sober formality and could be used/adopted for use in a conservative boardroom just as easily as a library or dining room, but would seem out of place in a fast food restaurant

• Glittering materials such as brass, mirrors, crystals suggest an opera house, dance halls, civic/state building spaces used to entertain, casino’s but would be out of place in a hospital

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MATERIAL SELECTION– EXERCISE ONE

1. Develop material selection and colour design decisions for the following spaces without reference to actual design

2. It is hoped that in the process ideas about what is appropriate will emerge strongly

– A living room in a Georgian Country House– The Boardroom of a Major Corporation– A Nurse and Doctor’s workstation in a busy

hospital– A Fashion Boutique– A Dentist’s Surgery

3. Prepare sample boards for each situation– Avoid cliché material Design Decisions, but do not

disregard widely accepted traditioms of usage

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MATERIAL SELECTION– GENUINE VERSUS IMITATION– It is widely accepted as a basic value in

design that materials should be what they appear to be

– Many designers go further and insist that all materials be used only in their own natural colour and they develop colour schemes through choosing materials with their natural colours in mind

– This could be problematic when dealing with synthetics. Plastic laminates could not really be classified as having a ‘natural’ colour, their use requires the acceptance of an artificial colour and perhaps of texture and pattern as well

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MATERIAL SELECTION

– However many designers avoid the use of materials which attempt to imitate some other material in an artificial way

– Fake materials tend to degrade the quality of the space where they are used unless it is a stated design intention (Fast Food, Wacky, Retro )

– Many modern synthetic materials are made with the specific purpose of mimicking some other, usually superior (and more expensive) material

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MATERIAL SELECTION• Linoleum is produced in patterns imitating tile,

marbles and wood strip flooring• Wallpaper imitating wood boards, marble, stone

or tile/brick• Some plastic sheeting is embossed to imitate

the texture and mortar joints of brickwork, marbles

• Imitation wood beams of plastic can be glued to ceilings to suggest structure that doesn’t exist

• Serious design work of good quality rejects all such imitations as cheap, shoddy and generally of such poor appearance as to fool no one

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MATERIAL SELECTION

– Designers have to make decisions about where to draw the line on the issue of imitations

• Is a plastic laminate imitating a wood veneer satisfactory as a tabletop or desktop material?

• Are paper thin wood tiles imitating parquet acceptable since they really are made of wood?

• Is a plastic material that imitates leather a satisfactory alternative to the real thing?

• What about false wormholes in the distressed finishes applied to some antique reproductions?

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MATERIAL SELECTION– In practice these questions are dealt with

case by case– On the one hand it generally it makes sense to

minimize or avoid imitations wherever possible– However there is another view. Historically

painted imitations of marble were often used in Baroque churches, some Early American Floors were painted to suggest tiles, think about ‘trompe l’oeil or theatrical scene painting

– What is important here is that the aim was not to deceive but to elicit delight in the maker’s skill

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MATERIAL SELECTION

– When using imitation, for example, if plastic is to replace leather, a plain surface or texture is preferable to one that tries to mimic pigskin or elephant hide

– Laminates come in plain colours and in patterns that are purely geometric rather than imitative

– Plastic butcher block or knotty pine, linoleum marble or flagstone, simulated brick and tile, fake fireplaces and plastic plants have no place in a well designed interior

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MATERIAL SELECTION– The changing of colour through dyeing

(textiles, carpets and similar elements) and the changing of a surface through applied materials such as paint and wallpaper are widely accepted

– Most surface materials have appearance characteristics making it clear they are surface. A tiled wall does not suggest that the wall is tile all the way through. Stone used as a surface material in large thin sheets or small tiles looks quite different than blocks of stone construction

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MATERIAL SELECTION

– The idea that Structural and Surface Materials should look different has been a recognized design principle for many years