DETAIL 12.2015

From the editorial DETAIL 12.2015

Hybrid Forms of Construction

Combining the innate properties of different materials can create highly efficient structures. In design terms, it is the contrast between these materials that lends hybrid forms of construction their special expression. The visitor centre in Sempach, for example, profits from the combination of a tamped earth outer skin and a timber structure. The office building in Nüziders has a hybrid floor construction – timber beams with concrete slabs on top – yet the brick exterior exerts its own attraction. The stainless-steel skin of a development at Oxford University reflects the surroundings in iridescent form, so that the timber structure is not immediately apparent. Finally, a new research pavilion at Stuttgart University demonstrates the scope for using fibre materials based on the idea of a water spider’s dwelling.