The influence of the material – application, design, aesthetics

The importance of choosing the right building material for the perception, use and design of top quality architecture

Which building material is suitable for what purpose? Which ceramic coatings should be used as wall coverings and which as floor coverings? With the same slab thickness, does a composite flat slab allow for greater spans than a reinforced concrete flat slab? Does it make sense to use a sisal carpet in the entryway or would velour be better? – Or perhaps neither? How is a ‘new’ building material developed to the point that it can be utilised?
The list of questions which arises over the course of a building process is long, but the Construction Materials Manual is able to provide the answers in the form of a very useful reference work. In addition, 25 international examples of the aesthetic utilisation of the documented material – some very traditional, some very innovative – are illustrated in detail.

• Material properties, material applications, example constructions
• Unique composition of sustainability variables for individual materials
• Standards + guidelines: with the new EN designations
• Traditional and innovative use of materials in the 21st century

Manfred Hegger, Volker Auch-Schwelk, Matthias Fuchs, Thorsten Rosenkranz

August 2006
280 pages
With approx. 4,000 drawings, 32 colour plates and numerous coloured illustrations
Hard cover 23 x 29.7 cm
ISBN 978-3-7643-7570-6