Experimenting with Materiality

“Even the brick wants to be something” – Louise I khan

The experience of the space is created through the expression that a material creates in the space. It shows material potential in terms of its strength its flexibility its transparency etc With the usage designer has the ability to change the visual perception of the material. Let it be Louies I khan play with bricks Mies van der rohe details of steel and glass, Toyo ito fluidity through hollow column, Tado ando‘s concrete, Kengu kummas wood, Sanna usage of glass and the architects expression is create through the use of material and the techniques of detailing it which had changed the way we look at the material forever.

The experimenting with the expression and perception of material had always been one of the important feature behind any architecture. This experimentation in different scale are observed in different works of Sferablu architects. From experimenting with the Corian material for tables with cantilever testing its stability and strength.

In souq bistro and grill a Mediterranean themed restaurant designed with groined vaulted ceiling flooring with Greek blue and white china mosaic creating the experience of the place To create an identity of the brand a wall is created to display the pickled glass jar. The glass shelf is to house 6 tons weight pickled jar. So design the glass shelf without any frame was a challenge to resolve toughened glass was the first choice but the weight of it and the strength of it under compression did not work instead kaccha glass was used it worked perfectly fine for this purpose the strength under compression was more compared to the toughened glass making it a perfect choice. Thus glass strength is put to test in this project.

With the project office building for Steefo engineering manufacturer of tmt bars. The parametric form was designed were the steel is cladded to create the look of folded metal sheets. The corten steel was choose to clad around. The metal in the form of folded sheet in the slanting parametric form made it appear lighter. The whole visual perception of metal being the stronger, structural material is made to appear lighter and softer material.

In this project vansali the inspiration was from the brutalist style of architecture from Brussels. The concrete was choose as the primary material. The exposed concrete look to emphasis the style was done. But the expression of the concrete is changed with the use of bamboo scaffolding creating the vertical patterned texture of concrete throughout, these vertical bamboo pattern gives the building relatable human scale and proportion making it relatable to the context it is in.

Meethi mishit mati ghar was an example for a sustainable and ecofriendly design. The ramped earth was used as the major construction material. The material expression of earth is emphasized in the façade through lines of different colored soil. Repurposed wooden windows are used making it more sustainable.

Through these project different materials are put to experiment, testing its potential and changing its usual perception.