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Architecture is the implementation of a project. The transfer of this idea to a built reality as well as the effect that will produce in the observer, basically depends on the choice of materials. The variety of materials is extraordinary but a good project should be confined necessarily to a very specific materiality.
But what do we understand by “materiality”? As it is common in the current architectural discourse, this is a borrowed term widely used, but unclear and ambiguous.
The term materiality is tipically applied to the surface of the architecture. The materials contribute to the creation of the spatial experience through its aspects, the sense of touch, its scent and acoustic characteristics.
When we speak of visible materiality, we try to circumvent the objection that the surface represents only a part of the overall materiality. Since in the perception are involved other senses besides the sight, it is deduced that the materiality is necessarily something more than the structure of a surface.
To clarify this point we can use a philosophical definition that coined the concept of materiality and that suggests that the bodies not only consist of matter, a material substance, but also, they convey a feeling of physical presence. In this way, the materiality derives from matter and this definition unifies many aspects relating to materials.
However, this explanation does not include all the aspects that encompasses the concept of materiality. In architecture, in addition to the surface, the internal structure and the emergence resulting from a physical entity, an aspect of association of especially important ideas also takes place. The materials can be identified with certain situations and they represent them.The association of the stone with wealth and power, for example, is perceived in any financial district. Therefore, three levels are present: the visible materiality, the internal materiality and the associative materiality.
The perception of the materiality is based on personal ,individual criteria, which are neither right or wrong. Many prominent architects have developed their own points of view regarding the materiality: Alvar Aalto, Tadao Ando, Louis I Kahn, to name just a few, have used a selection of their own materials to equip their architecture with a hallmark which will last in time.
The treatment of the materials and the pleasure of experimenting with them ,enrich the architecture. In this sense, the attraction by the novelty plays a fundamental role and every architect is aware of this. Many choose innovative materials as a resource to turn their buildings into unique works, a fact which offers opportunities, that with increasing frequency, are becoming central themes of architecture.
Currently, architects use stylistic resources such as the diversity of materials and its processing, exploring the boundaries of what is technically possible, using them in an intentionally incorrect way or taking materials of areas outside the architecture.
Choosing a material requires the knowledge of a large number of specific data, although it is also necessary to have intuition and sensitivity to adopt the appropriate material in a particular architectural context.
Thus, Ibiza Design will lead the reader from the various posibilities offered by the materials to the point of views which are developed based on the materiality.