Appunti Atelier for Technologies

METHYLMETACRILATO (PMMA)

Polimetilmetacrilato (PMMA) è un termoplastico trasparente, spesso utilizzato come alternativa leggera o resistente agli urti al vetro. Le lastre di acrilico estruso possono essere prodotte in qualsiasi lunghezza, il che spesso comporta un risparmio di costi poiché le perdite di materiale possono essere ridotte al minimo quando i pezzi vengono tagliati dalle dimensioni personalizzate delle lastre.

A volte viene chiamato vetro acrilico e il PMMA è stato venduto con una varietà di nomi di marca e nomi generici, come Perspex®, Plexiglass®, Altuglas, Vitroflex, Limacryl, Lucite. Questo materiale può essere lucidato: se utilizzato come piano di lavoro in un progetto, può essere lucidato per rendere il materiale molto lucido. Altre caratteristiche sono: alta trasparenza (>92%) superiore al vetro; alta durezza superficiale - a volte più resistente del vetro. Quindi perché non utilizzare questo materiale al posto del vetro? Beh, dipende dalla durabilità, anche se il PMMA è più resistente, in realtà il vetro è più durevole e più facile da pulire.

doesn't get ruined when exposed to specific chemical agents. It also has good weathering and chemical resistance. Parapan is recyclable and has high UV resistance. It comes in a range of colors and is easy to process, including cutting, drilling, printing, vacuum forming, and bending. It can also be thermoformed easily. Parapan is available in sheets, blocks, and rods. At the Italpromo & Libardi Associati Headquarters in Rome, designed by Labics, Parapan was chosen to create a light material and perception, achieved by the absence of a frame. Although fireproofing could be a concern, the correct usage of fire-preventing systems allows for extensive use of this material. Parapan starts as a block (panel, solid, or fluid mass) and can be directly cut and used. The advantage of Parapan is its higher resistance compared to lacquered panels. It is often used in contract environments and is a high gloss solid acrylic material. The solid color runs all the way through, and the high gloss finish is present on both sides. Additionally, Parapan is durable and moisture-resistant.

is especially suitable for kitchens, bathrooms and for commercial applications. In environments such as Rinascente, this material is used because of its shiny and perfect effect. It can be customized, as we can see it's been done for the handles; available in both 18mm and 4mm thicknesses panels and doors.

are made to measure and are perfect for all vertical applications from drawer and cupboard fronts to wall cladding. Parapan is extremely workable as it can be thermoformed into curves and machined like wood.

Bencore® (or Panelite®) is a composite material, composed with two panels front/back and a honeycomb structure inside - honeycomb polycarbonate provides strength and stiffness without adding weight. The macro-cellular structure has bearing properties and makes insulating and sound-absorbing panels.

Honeycomb panels can be finished with plastic laminates (Panelilte and Bencore) as well as metal sheets, fibers, wood.

etc - the external sheets can be colored, like also the core inside (less vivid​color). It can be recycled​, but it's not that simple, as with methacrylate, because it's very difficult to disassemble the different plastic materials. It's like resin, they're not very eco-friendly, but also​ they're not often used, so the environmental impact is very low. Bencore® can bend its panels on moulds of specific radius, to be pre-evaluated with the​ company Technical Office. Special panels: curved walls, front sides for reception desks, counters​ for shops and bars.​ The company provides designers with all different types of structures, used to assemble the panels together - they can be joined in a seamless way with minimal visual impact and without metal framing. 4. Colors of nature Since it's very difficult to find a material that is exactly the same as the color choice made for any projects, it's actually wiser to set a color palette, and after

that trying to find a material that matches one of our colors. As in Alessandro Scandurra Studio, Peck Store, Seoul, 2014: the floor​​plan looks like a mosaic marbles, having a color mix between red/white/green. The top plan perspective explains this transition perfectly, but actually the inside perspective seen by the people is very different perceive this change gradually. There is no specific relation between and floor: they're in brass (express a high level of luxury), and as we move to between the areas, the ground color manages to create different atmospheres.

Iride home, 1005-6, by Attilio Stocchi: the plan shows clearly the color composition and the different marbles names. The colors are organized in order to have a particular view from the corridor, that allows users to see all the different color shades also, the color choice is made with accuracy, in fact in the bedrooms we can see how "cold colors" were used, in order to create a certain

atmosphere. _BRASILIAN SLATE_ In Italy, the Black Slate (Ardesia Nera) is typical from Liguria, a material traditionally used for blackboards in school. Brazilian slate is a technical, yet stylish material, which is imported and finished for application. The different colors are marketed with several names, depending on the importer. Each color comes from different quarries that sometimes are a few hundred kilometers distant from each other: - Cinza: the grey color is the most constant. The color effect is influenced by light conditions, in the shadow it turns into green, in bright light it appears light blue. - Green: it reminds the color of aged copper; uniform and constant; looks good indoors. - Red (or eggplant, vinho): it is the rarest quality; grey as soon as it is extracted, once exposed to light it turns to an intense burgundy. The final color is stable. - Graphite: it is the color with the most evident flame effects. The different shades of ash grey create a pleasant atmosphere.

variety.Black: the dark color is uniform and very intense.

Graphite may become lighter, and actually it can be used for building roofs, as we can see in Italy.

In the case of Brasilian slate, it's very difficult to have high dimensional slabs, because they tend to bend. In fact, the maximum dimension usable is 60x60cm. One advantage can be to select a "raw" block 60x60, and after cutting it, you can use special forms also for different architectural areas, like steps.

Rusty effect: Ferrugem (o Baiha, Rusty stone, Multicolor): unlike the other types, it has a very uneven coloration, with shades ranging from green to red, like those of rusty metal, from which it takes its name.

Gazzetta di Parma building, 1999 by Pietro Zanlari: in this very tech building, with concrete and metal materials, actually inserting a natural material can give a very nice contrast.

SERPENTINE Almè, Attilio Stocchi, Viridis, Bergamo, 2005-06: this material is different based on the quarry provenience.

Three types of Serpentine, each with three different finishes (sand-blasted, bushhammered, water-jet), become nine different greens, and the basis for an obsessive design-calculation-planning operation in which 125 slabs of different sizes come together to form a unique whole.

5. Color accents

Color actually can be made also with objects, and its placement inside an interior area. Let's force the expression objects can be material. Our professional activity involves also furniture choice, material and texture choice, etc.

Jason Mclean, The House, Cannes, 2008: few objects have a very specific color, black and yellow, and they give a strong chromatic effect to the space.

Olivier Hannaert, Michel Penneman, Pantone Hotel, Brussels, 2010: totally based on color as a peculiar characteristic of the project. They decided to add detailed color, such as bikes and sofas. Each of the hotel's seven floors are enlightened by different color palettes to complement guests'.

emotions with distinctive hues - whether vivid or subdued.

Pantone Café, Monaco 2015-16: a temporary bar in Montecarlo, made in an industrial container, open during summer time. With this project, color choice works better, since it's just an object and it's not placed inside an architectural dimension. Intersecting the food and design spaces, the restaurant features a Pantone color-coded menu. The Pantone gives a multi-sensory culinary experience. Items are named after the color of an entire item, a specific ingredient, or reference a brand's signature hue, such as "Heineken Green." Here we can see different design disciplines: food design, interior design, product design, graphic design, but also marketing.

Sauerbruch Hutton, Photonik Centre, Berlin, 1996-98: the single level hall is constructed as a steel façade skeleton: its skin consists of a full height glass with internal color-coated sunshades. We have a double perception: inside,

The color perception is very strong, opposite from the outdoor perception, which is very "week" thanks also to the structural glass.

Lecture 7

The material mass, and its physical presence, induces us to make a deeper analysis that goes beyond the surface. We'll analyze the action we can have on the surface, how to work with it and how it can change - it's mechanically processed in order to obtain a stronger process, a haptic effect, something that we can see and touch, with a real 3D effect.

Haptic realm - texture, surfaces as interface

The ability to "work" on the surface of materials is a key instrument not only in architecture, but in any other creative activity. The relationship between the nature of the materials and their appearance continues to offer interesting research ideas.

Luciano Giorgi, Casa nelle Alpi, Chiesa Valmalenco, 1998-2002 the surfaces are actually naked surfaces, therefore we can clearly perceive the bare.

materials (natural elements), where some of them actually didn't present a mechanical process, and if it is, we can perceive that too. We can clearly see that the wall is built with stones, the stairs made with wood, plaster and concrete are not covered, so the user perceives all the materials that intentionally are shown. Texture - the imprint of processing Natural materials are never "ready to use", but we always have to process the materials through specific mechanical processes when we feel that t