Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Construction + Materiality: by Lorraine Farrelly
Construction + Materiality: by Lorraine Farrelly
By Lorraine Farrelly.
Material association:
Glass offers the architect the potential to create building forms that can be immediately
associated with the properties of the material itself, producing structures that are transparent,
light, open and clear. The author explains this with the example of the Federal Parliament in
Bonn, Germany (designed by Behnisch and Partners and completed in 1991). This is one of
the first designs to use this powerful association in contemporary parliament building.
Surface treatments:
Architects are increasingly exploring the ambiguities that different glass surface treatments
can bring. Screen printing dots or patterns on to the surface can suggest reflections when
viewed from a distance and at close range allow shadows of the interior to be seen. Glass can
also be treated with chemicals so that it is self-cleaning and can be used in areas that may be
difficult to access for maintenance. There are also surface treatments available that prevents
the heat loss through glass in winter and controls solar gains in the summer.
Conclusion:
In the end the author tries to convey the fact that glass and steel are part of the
modernist aesthetic. The combination of both provides both strength and delicacy to
architecture.