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- THE TRIP OF THE CORTEN STEEL... UNWRAP - THE TRIP OF THE CORTEN STEEL...
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Australian Center of Contemporary Arts
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“The privileging of form over material is central both to the theoretical discipline and the profession of architecture.”21
The final stop of the corten steel is ACCA. In this site, we will discuss why architects have started to choose weathering steel as a material for building facades, why ACCA designers choose weathering steel and how weathering steel expresses itself in the ACCA.
Architects began using corten steel in their architectural designs in the early 1960s, using this material for several reasons. Firstly, being a new material at the time, some designers thought that this material would reflect the modernity of the building. 22 The second reason was that the designers thought weathering steel would merge well with the natural environment. 23 The third reason was that the designers wanted a red, rusty, copper-like material, and weathering steel not only had this appearance but also protected the material and the stability of the building through an attached protective layer.24 As can be seen, none of these reasons, except the third, focus on the internal energy of weathering steel. The second reason can be seen as an attempt by the architect to reduce the dichotomous boundary between us and nature through weathering steel. Ironically, the third reason is that weathering steel is a substitute for copper.
21. Thomas, “Introduction: Architecture and Material Practive”, 2.
22. “Why architects use COR-TEN as their material of choice”, kloeckner metals, published July 23th, 2021, https://www.kloecknermetalsuk.com/en/latest-news/why-architects-use-cor-ten-as-their-material-of-choice. html#:~:text=Cor%2Dten%C2%AE%20Steel%20is,for%20a%20variety%20of%20projects.
23. Christopher Henry, “Linda Flora Residence/Shubin + Donaldson Architects”, Archdaily, published March 9th, 2011, https://www.archdaily.com/117610/linda-flora-residence-shubindonaldson-architects.
24. “Why architects use COR-TEN as their material of choice”
