Material bibliographies

Dhruv Mishra (MID, ’22) explores a methodology for reading spaces

Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT (Louis Kahn, 1974. Photograph: Scott Norsworthy. "Yale Center for British Art" May 26, 2013. Online Image. Flickr. <https://www.flickr.com/photos/scottnorsworthy/10811780033>)

Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX (Louis Kahn, 1972. Photograph: See.jay. "View Along Vault." March 17, 2016. Online Image. Flickr.<https://www.flickr.com/photos/see_jay/25424106136/in/photostream/>)

By now you’ve likely already explored the sleek digital database of Material Connexion, the material library of the Sandow media company. Maybe you’ve even ordered take-out samples from Material Bank, a vast and rapidly growing material marketplace and robotic distribution facility (also part of the Sandow enterprise). But have you found a use for Material Order, the database and consortium project launched in 2019 that makes available material collections at Harvard and RISD? Or what about the Materials Lab at the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture?

It’s not just you: resources for web-based material research have exploded in the past few years, all seeking to help you answer the question “what is that?” in a variety of ways, outlining details from properties to material ecology. Here, the Material Lab’s Dhruv Mishra (MID ’22) investigates what might be gleaned from this flood of far-reaching material info. Starting with a few well-known spaces like Louis I. Kahn’s Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, and Louis I.Kahn’s (1901-1974) Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, CT, and Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, TX, this project focuses data from a variety of sources onto a handful of images to explore the ways in which visualizing their references can foreground the material stories of the built environment.

Working as a Research Assistant in the Material Lab, I frequently encounter students seeking to identify appropriate materials for speculative spaces and applications. This common reference question has prompted us in the Material Lab to consider the ways in which students might approach this challenge differently. "What's the best material to use for a staircase?" would be an exhausting way to approach each material selection. Reversing this question, Material Bibliographies proposes a methodology that begins with thorough research into the materials used in existing spaces. The internet is a great resource for this research, but also an abyss of imprecise information. To combat these issues, I began by targeting articles from reputable published sources like ArchDaily, Dezeen, Architectural Digest to get preliminary information. Architect’s own websites, too, often include some information on material selection, and when supplemented with manufacturer specification sheets, these can give a clearer story of material choices that shaped the design of a project.

In the case of the Louis Kahn’s Kimbell Art at Yale, I came across a plethora of information on how the building was made but not a lot on the type of material used and its constituents. For a deeper dive, I searched for articles and scholarly publications on online repositories like jstor, avery, Pratt Library and even previous year college theses. I came across ‘The Yale University Art Gallery by Louis I. Kahn’ by Alexander Purves which unearthed the techniques used by Kahn. Each article helped me gain a better understanding into specific material considerations. A college thesis ‘The Kimbell Art Museum Building from concept to completion’ by Alice Rebekah Connally at North Texas State University dating back to 1977, helped me understand the whole process of which material was used and why. Thus giving me insight on why certain materials considerations like lead in the roofing and why concrete was poured in place as opposed to pre-cast. The Material Connexion library and Pratt’s own CSDS helped me identify more sustainable alternatives to Kahn’s material choices.

When combined, all this information helps us to illuminate a world of information that lies under the surface of a compelling space, and helps us to make more informed decisions in our future work. I thoroughly enjoyed this in-depth research process and I recommend it as a starting point for anyone daunted by online material research.

Poured in place exposed concrete

Woolen carpet flooring

Raw Belgian Linen wallcovering

Quarter sawn, oil finished white oak

Chadwick Couch by Herman Miller. Plastic inner structure, urethane foaming stuffing, urethane foam 65% and polyester fibre 35%

Travertine from Bagni di Tivoli, Italy

Cast-in-place using wooden frame, unfinished concrete with textures chosen after multiple variations of concrete. Tie holes plugged with lead coated copper