Appunti Atelier for Technologies

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ATELIER FOR TECHNOLOGIES

CdLM Interior & Spatial Design, aa. 20/21, prof. Alessandro Villa

Lecture 1 3

Tradition vs. Innovation 3

Origin of a thought 4

To be and to appear 5

Designer’s research 6

Lecture 2 8

Perception studies 8

Some examples 9

Perception 11

Design Primario 13

Lecture 3 15

Shell and Skin 15

Resin coatings 15

Microcement / microtopping 18

Resin + cement coating 18

Marble effect 19

Gold leaf 19

Translucent concrete 19

Luccon Veneer 19

Concreo: cemento non cemento 20

Dlayer: design covering system 20

Mosaic 20

Laminar tiles 22

PVC film coatings 22

Stone sheets 23

Lecture 5 25

Material and Image 25

Instant message 26

Photoshop Effect 31

Naturalistic Inspiration 32

Lettering and script 33

Lecture 6 35

Color accents 45

Haptic realm - texture, surfaces as interface 46

Lecture 1

There is continuous progress in materials, and it’s rising rapidly, no matter how well we know all

the materials, because every day new ones enter the market. Therefore, it is more important to

learn how to select materials (and to track the technological progress), rather than classify them

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based on nature or on production processes.

Materials and technology depends not only on the global market, but also form the region where

they’re being used: for example, in Italy the materials considered traditionals are natural stones

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and marbles

, where this ancient tradition is due to domination of these materials on our territory.

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The material study approach will be design mind oriented - research of information that dhe

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designer will give us. All materials in this study are seen from the sensorial effect​ , and from the

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feeling they produce in the observant. It’s a transversal point of view for all materials, related to:

contest, environment, light;

● treatment and processing of surfaces;

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It’s an approach which deals with:

sensorial experience;

● political aim;

● expressive will.

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We can consider as a “start” of this topic the ancient book “Compendio”, published by De

Vitruvio, and the pivotal elements of this book are three words: “venustas” - beauty, “utilitas” -

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function, “firmitas”​ - static and material solidity.

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Tradition vs. Innovation

If yesterday we could distinguish between natural and innovative materials, today this

classification doesn’t work anymore. We talk about the esthetic

, the experience and perception of

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materials

, about their “natural look”, and we compare them considering the performances (eg.

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eco-compatible materials). Another important difference is the innovative process for traditional

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materials: since we have a lot of innovation and artificial materials, many would think that

traditional materials are not used very much: well, wrong.

Our idea of experience has changed: if yesterday, inside the companies, the main character was

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the “specialist” (a person with many years of experience), now the machine has become it, aboud

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how it works and what things (new) it can do.

Is there a correct way of working with materials? This idea is evolving a lot, it can be summarized

in the concept of “honesty” of the material, and takes into account the designer approach​ :

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minimalism, prefer high-quality materials and enhances the most intimate and evocative

● nature through surface processing (the first example of minimalism is the POP-ART, and

the first interior design project was made by John Pawson, in 1987 for a Calvin Klein

pavillion in NY);

bio-architecture​ , which prefers choosing natural and “sincere” materials as a condition

● for building healthier architectures (Renzo Piano’s buildings have high standards in terms

of “energy saving”).

Honest materials​ , a concept born in the 19th century, where the architects and designer

supported the idea that buildings should be linked to the function (ex. Crystal Palace). Therefore,

each material was generally associated with one main characteristic: transparency in glass,

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reflection in mirror, texture and softness in the tissues, warm tones of wood, naturalness of

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surfaces in stone, brick and traditional materials. But why do we say “wood is warm”?

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Here the semantic qualities intervene​ : why does wood give us positive emotions? The process

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and treatment of surfaces are often associated uniquely to the materials, as if to emphasize the

implicit semantics of color and tactile qualities that ultimately are believed to be already

present in the material. However, we can see that the widespread preference for the so-called

natural materials is mainly based on their aesthetic superiority natural materials = beautiful

→

materials.

Aesthetic vs. Performances​ , Today, all attention is paid to the characteristics of the surface

layer, which is given the task to enable a satisfactory sensory and cerebral interaction, while the

substrate support is appreciated for a mere technical performance.

Origin of a thought

Adolf Loos worked during the era of the Golden Age of the Secession and Modernism in

architecture: he was very critical about the over-decoration, in fact we can consider him the first

architect who “started” the Modernist movement, where he advises us to a correct technology

usage of a material.

“Etiquette” - the appropriate choice for the appropriate situation, in order to not feel

uncomfortable. The etiquette justifies choices that are not ultimately functional. Choosing the best

clothing in a given situation is perpetuated by tradition and by social customs. The same ones

that are condemned when they establish canons of arbitrary fashion.

Loos considered ornament as a crime, and he wanted to exhort us to not passively accept the

language (and the materials) in vogue, but to use them correctly. Today we must take into

account the innovation of materials, whose technology often improves and makes viable design

solutions. Therefore, we are free to address aesthetic choices. But even in this case the will of the

designer is inevitably influenced by far broader categories: comfort, senses, emotions, culture,

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consensus and sharing. In western countries, we tend to consider not “design-oriented” the

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massive use of each material (like gold), because “the

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more precious a material is, the less you should use it.”

Therefore, minimalism is very related to this cultural

aspect.

_ Vincent Van Duysen, a contemporary architect who

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still follows the idea of “Good materials”. In VDD House,

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Dendemonde, 1998 the bathroom is monochromatic - a

blue belgian stone - trying to make it a warm

environment. From our cultural perspective, we can

state that this is not a warm environment. Actually the

slab can result warm, thanks to the technology it’s made with.

_David Chipperfield, Alaska Olistic Wellbeing Center,

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London, 2013

. Entirely made by Carrara marble

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empty space as a path to find an empty mind. As we

know, once you cut it and use it, it’s very hard to renew

this material.

The use of precious material in contemporary design

has changed: there is research for something new

, as

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we can see the 3D wall inside Palazzo Fendi, Roma,

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2016 by Curiosity

. Being inside the fashion industry,

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there has to be a strong communication about values as “richness, luxury, expensive, exclusive”.

To be and to appear

The imitation of natural material has become so

technologically advanced that it is almost impossible to

recognize the real (natural) from the artificial one.

The visual and tactile qualities of surfaces have

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become so important that manufacturers have focused

all efforts in the development of sophisticated finishes,

and very often are faithful imitations of "natural“

features. Aesthetic quality of industrial products are more precisely delineated than those seen in

the original natural material.

We can see the market evolution based on the 2013 material production, where they were

requested in a “raw” format, instead in 2017 (​ Graniti Fiandre, Cersaie, Bologna 2017

) the request

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changed, demanding shiny and glossy materials, but maintaining the same texture.

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The natural is now a new s

enses based “category”, and it’s concept has changed. Today this

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word describes: uneven surfaces, slightly rough or perfectly glossy, colors and tones

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inspired by​ the​ landscape.

1. Blend of materials - G

rand Hotel Courmayeur Mont Blanc by Studio Simonetti. In this

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room we can notice the mix between natural materials (wood) and artificial materials

(ceramic). The balance between the tones is very accurate, and the aim is to transmit

“comfort” to the person;

2. Play between indoor and outdoor space - Hotel II Duca, Milan, 2017 by Arassociati

.

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Creating a wide space is not always possible, therefore we can use different techniques to

simulate it, for example by using the same pavement material, inside and outside. But if

we use a natural material, it’s very likely that the outside section will be ruined by the

continuous atmosphere changes; the effect obtained could be positive or negative, it

depends by the designer’s project;

3. Inedited and limitless possibilities of interpretation - Salone del Mobile, Milan, 2018.

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Looks like natural material, but they actually imitate fossil wood​ . Eminent Wood porcelain

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stoneware surfaces are inspired by an extraordinary natural phenomenon; trees become

stone, maintaining their original ligneous structure and turning into fossilized jewels. An

allegory of evolutionary metamorphosis.The firm appearance typical of tree trunks blends

with the mineral vigor resulting from thousands of years of petrification;

4. New concepts - sense of time/aging

5. Sustainable luxury / rare materials

6. Neutral limbo / beyond Minimalism - Pennyblack, Milan 2017 by Duccio Grassi

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Architects

. A new trend is the neutral limbo​ , a type of interior design that uses very similar

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textures, so the space “can be liked” by everyone.

Designer’s research

_Conceptual innovation

Lea ceramica, Type_32 by Diego Grandi

, has a very different approach, and we can see it by the

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research he’s made on surfaces. His work is based on the different layer use: the first one is

ceramic - an imitative product - and it’s combined with different orientated patterns.

Transparent Table

, 2011 by Nend

o (experimental solution) the clear acrylic is cast in a wooden

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form with a strong grain, and the resulting pieces were assembled in order to create a

“transparent wood table”. He reproduced the butt ends faithfully and beveled the edges like

floorboards: after that he matched the grains ends and dimensions of the wood used for the table

legs to the ‘transparent wood, in order to create a unified piece. The two tables have specific and

different optical effects: at first glance the black table seems wood, but a closer look reveals its

transparency, while the clear table looks transparent at first glance, and only later reveals its

wooden form.

Alcantara wood, 2015 by Nendo

. Alcantara is a type of synthetic fabric very

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resistant, used for contract design. Various colours have been layered and

rolled up to create a kind of ‘log’, and then cut into slices of lumber to

create the effect of ‘Alcantara tree-rings’. This material can be used for

flooring or furniture finishes, bringing out a whole new expressive dimension

to Alcantara.

The visual approach is very different from the tactile one, because these

two transmit very different information to the person.

_Technical innovation

Second nature, 2008, by Tokujin Yoshioka, wanted to explore natural crystals, by creating them

starting from a soft (synthetic) fiber, and immersing it in a “secret” solution this process wants

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to “force” the crystallization process. “​ The “Venus” chair is neither about creating visual

resemblances to nature, about presenting works that use natural materials, nor imitating the

surface of principles. It looks at the mysterious beauty of nature and seeks to investigate designs,

which appeal to human heart.”

The prominence of the sensorium over the cultural and symbolic is the result of a rapidly evolving

technique that has freed many materials from the traditional constraints of application, making

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them “easy to use”; not only, they have greater performances, they’re easiest to clean, and

designer can use them in shapes/forms not present previously.

This idea makes us wonder what is the "minimum level" of technical expertise needed to design

and produce innovative solutions, but also effective to propose an improvement of the aesthetic

and functional quality of the materials the technical path of the project can not be left behind.

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Collezione “I Neutri” by Artesia

, we can see that innovation is below a different “spotlight”: the use

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of natural materials (stones) with a lot of difference between them, the different surfaces finish

between the elements (hammered, brushed), and the hexagonal form is the actual innovation.

Combined together these materials transmit a certain emotion and atmosphere, and allow use

even the imperfect pieces, not having them thrown away.

_Design and market: the interaction

Companies decide which materials to put on the market based not only by the external research,

but also based on the designer leaders’ opinion and common people’ opinion.

Lecture 2

Perception studies

Isao Hosoe​ , japanese designer with a singular philosophy: while presenting his projects, he

always included cultural references

, mostly from eastern world area. He studied as an engineer,

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and his thesis project was an airplane that moved only by human energy.

The origin of Hosoe’s studies is based on the research of american scholar C.S. Pierce, a

mathematics and philosophy theorist, who developed the concept of abduction in the late 19th

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century. Based on the mathematical logic, formed by deduction, intuition a

nd abduction

, these

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terms are not enough to describe the design process, therefore “​ the abduction adds the desire

and the will to direct the project, despite the uncertainty of the result, but aware of this

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responsibility.”

_The Materials Triangle, 1973

Concept born during a design competition in

1973, from the Mandala lamp and the thought of

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“how does light behave on different surfaces?”

In no other way light reacts with a surface, if not

by reflection, transparency and absorption.

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Many materials are placed between two areas,

and not on one vertex because it’s impossible

for a material to be totally transparent, without

reflection.

The peaks of the triangle can be related with natural elements: air - transparency, water -

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reflection, sidereal space of the black hole - absorption. These natural elements become visible by

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means of their reaction to light, according to the qualities described in Hosoe’s triangle.

Design examples. Is it possible to design with..?:

a. Air (transparency​ ) - D

iller and Scofidio+Renfro, Blur Building, Swiss Expo, 2002. T

his

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structure produces artificial fog, and the person walks towards it but he doesn’t see it. It’s

very clear that working with air transparency and humidity can be surprising.

b. Water (reflection) - MVRDV, Balancing Barn, UK, 2010

. The material used by the design

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group is metal, but the principal element that characterizes the building is reflection - not

perfectly shiny, but slightly irregular, with the purpose of making the light reflection more

interesting.

c. Total black (absorption) - Jean Nouvel, Onix Cultural centre, Nantes, 1987-89

. The

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project was conceived as a total black block, landed on asphalt. The main material is

painted black metal, and they used a metal grid in order to let the light through it and allow

the facade to absorb the light.

Based on the last project, Jean Nouvel conceived an idea of concept: "a concept in itself can

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precipitates values belonging to the order of emotions. Everything that belongs to order of

emotions or sensations is linked to the field of art and, to some extent, to those of affection.At

certain points, I have to move into the state of “manufacture” or “material restoration” of some of

my previous emotions which I try to recreate. I take sensations and amplify them. Primarily, the

problem resides in being open, in always being receptive. In order to trigger someone’s emotions,

one first has to feel emotional ... “

_New senses

Hosoe tried to explain “perception” by consulting eastern

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cultures, like Buddhism: he tried to link the Triangle and the

senses. For our culture, the senses are five, but in

buddhism they’re enhanced by the intellect

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(consciousness), emotion (subconscious) and the inner

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memory (personal and collective, handed down from

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generation to generation since immemorial time).

The central importance of the sensorium gives a new

meaning to the experience: from a form of knowledge “a

posteriori”, to an instantaneous ability to understand and

decipher the new stimuli