Built Environment

Framing Material Choices in Architecture

Entanglement

How can we make better building material decisions?

Explore the bigger picture.

This research project delves into the transformative potential of framing material choices in architecture through the idea of Entanglement to promote social and ecological well-being. This project aims to create a series of questions and establish a variable framework to use as a catalyst to make more mindful material choices in architectural practice and acknowledge the large scale impacts of those choices.

Recognizing the significant impact of material choices on the built environment, this projects aims to elucidate how architects can strategically utilize materials to enhance the overall regenerative, sustainable and societal benefits of their designs for both humans and more-than-human agents. The research employs the use of case study analysis to further ground and learn from projects on how material choices can have a big impact.

Using a literature review, case study analysis, interviews and diagrammatic investigation of systems, this projects seeks to understand and map the web of entangled relationships that shape the material choices in the built environment and the radical new potentials of thinking this way.

By understanding these systems, the research aims to establish a foundation for a material informed design process that can be applied broadly in architectural practice. Ultimately, this research project aspires to plant the seeds for a paradigm shift in architectural practice towards a more conscious and intentional approach to material selection, fostering a healthier built environment that not only meets functional and aesthetic requirements but also contributes positively to the well-being of all life on the planet.

Project by Hemi Patel
MS-ARP Student 2024 // University of Minnesota

This project was conducted as a self-directed study in partnership with Cuningham between January 2024 - May 2024.

ADVISORS
Doug Bergert /// Cuningham
Jessica Rossi-Mastracci /// UMN
Lucas Glissendorf /// UMN and Olsen & Kundig

This project aims to address the catch 22 of material needs vs. material impact by bridging theory and practical decision-making to plant the seeds for future frameworks on how to make decisions on bio-based material choices in architectural practice.

Research Methods

This project utilizes a mixed methods approach.

Driving Questions

Literature Review

This research begun with a literature review to understand the following questions:

What information is available on bio-based materials for designers?
How are material selections being made and thought of?
What frameworks exist?
What information is available about how people are accessing bio-based material selection information?
What holistic frameworks exist that suggest and support making material selection sooner?
What bio-based materials are getting the most attention?
What is the most common bio-based materials?
What are bio-based materials? What exists and is being explored?
How are people thinking about material informed design? What frameworks exist?
How are marco systems being addressed in these micro decision processes?
What are the general impact potentials of using bio-based materials?

Case Studies

Questions that pushed the inquiry of the case studies to better ground the understanding of how material choices are informing built projects and their assoicated impact.

What drove the material selection in the selected case studies?
Client perspectives on the material selections?
How was that material selection supported?
When did material selection happen?
Is it part of something bigger?
What were the impacts of those material choices and were they intentional?
How was academia / education involved in the material selection process?
Were any frameworks used in the design process?

Interviews

The value perspective + experience.
These interviews were semi-structured to guage honest and real experiences of the research, design and execution process. Some guiding questions depending on who was interviewed, included:

What drove the material selection in the selected case studies?
How was that material selection supported through key decision making points?
How were conversations with clients navigated?
What are some hurdles of bio-based materials you’ve experienced?
How do you do learn about bio-based materials?
What partnerships did you need to engage in to use this bio-material?
What were you thinking about when making this material choice?
How was academia / education involved in the material selection process?
What holistic frameworks exist that suggest earlier material selection?

Existing Concepts / Methods/ Frameworks / Strategies /

These terms—Concepts, Methods, Frameworks, and Strategies—often overlap but have distinct meanings and roles within various domains like business, academia, and problem-solving contexts.

Concepts: These are abstract ideas or mental constructs that help in understanding phenomena or organizing knowledge. Concepts provide the foundational understanding upon which methods, frameworks, and strategies are built. For example, in economics, the concept of supply and demand is fundamental to understanding market dynamics.
Methods: Methods are systematic procedures or techniques used to achieve specific objectives or solve problems. They are practical approaches to executing tasks or processes. Methods are often based on established principles and may vary depending on the context. For instance, in scientific research, methods could include experiments, surveys, or observational studies.
Frameworks: Frameworks provide a structured way of organizing concepts, methods, and data within a particular domain. They offer a broader perspective and often serve as guides for decision-making or problem-solving. Frameworks can be conceptual, theoretical, or practical. For example, in project management, the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) provides a framework that outlines various processes, inputs, tools, and techniques necessary for project managemen
Strategies: Strategies are plans or approaches designed to achieve specific goals or objectives. They involve making choices about how resources will be allocated and actions prioritized to achieve desired outcomes. Strategies are typically based on analysis, evaluation, and decision-making within the context of a given framework. In business, for instance, a marketing strategy might involve targeting a specific market segment, positioning a product, and allocating resources to promotional activities.

How they work together:

Concepts provide the foundational understanding.
Methods offer practical ways to execute tasks or processes based on these concepts.
Frameworks provide structured guidelines or models within which concepts and methods are organized.
Strategies involve making decisions and plans within the framework to achieve specific goals or objectives.

In practice, they are interlinked: concepts inform methods, which are applied within frameworks, and strategies are formulated based on analysis within these frameworks. They work together to provide a comprehensive approach to understanding, problem-solving, and decision-making in various domains.

Biomimetics

“Biomimetics is a methodology which seeks to artifically reproduce princples present in nature.”

Nature replies on one main source of energy: solar energy
Nature uses only the quantity of energy required
Nature adapts form to function
Nature recycles everything
Nature bets on diversity
Nature works fro local assessments
Nature does not ‘go too far’, limiting its own excesses
Nature uses constraints as a source of creativity

Four Conditions to Achieve a Sustainable Society

Do not take more out of the crust of the Earth than can be replaced.
Do not use man-made materials wich take a long time to decompose.
Maintain the conditions for Nature to keep its production and diversity.
Use resources efficiently and correctly - stop being wasteful.

EPS - Environmental Account Method

The Environmental Account Method (EPS) is a systematic approach used to assess and account for the environmental impact of activities, products, or services. It involves quantifying the environmental footprint by considering factors such as resource consumption, emissions, and waste generation. EPS aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of environmental impacts to inform decision-making and promote sustainable practices. IVL, or the Swedish Environmental Research Institute, is known for its expertise in developing and implementing EPS and similar methodologies to support environmental management and policy development.

Environmental Preference Method

The Environmental Preference Method (EPM) is a decision-making approach that considers environmental factors and preferences when evaluating options or alternatives. It involves assessing the environmental impacts of various choices and determining the most favorable option based on ecological criteria. EPM integrates environmental considerations into decision-making processes, aiming to promote sustainability and minimize negative environmental effects. This method helps individuals, organizations, and policymakers make informed choices that align with environmental values and goals.

Ecoscarcity Method

The Ecoscarcity Method is a concept developed to address the dual challenges of ecological sustainability and resource scarcity. It involves a comprehensive approach to managing resources and ecosystems to ensure their long-term viability. This method emphasizes the need to balance human activities with the capacity of ecosystems to support them sustainably. It focuses on strategies such as conservation, efficient resource use, and the promotion of renewable alternatives to mitigate the negative impacts of resource depletion and environmental degradation. The Ecoscarcity Method aims to foster resilience and harmony between human societies and the natural environment for the benefit of present and future generations.

“How Much Does Your Building Weight, Mr. Foster?”

Sustainable Strategies for Re-materializing Construction

The Materials Book published by Ruby Press Berlin in late 2019 featured the essence of 22 Propositions as well as a selection of additional proposals to re-materialize construction derived from the findings of the Forum.

As the key input to the Holcim Forum “Re-materializing Construction”, the publication 22 Propositions offers strategies for both the material supply chain and material use in buildings. The propositions aim to “re-materialize” construction by rethinking the building material cycle from extraction to processing, design, transport, installation, maintenance, and removal.

Know You Materials
Do Not Forget CO2
Produce Leaner
Supply Better
What Is the Labour Cost?
Is the Price Right?
Build Local Material Industries
Mine the City
Maintain or Renew, Reuse or Recycle?
Designing for Nontoxicity: “Could I Eat Your Furniture, IKEA?”
Simplify Material Labels
Cross Loops
Create Building-Component Exchanges
Imagine a World without Waste
Match Use Span
Design for Diassembly
Never Demolish, Always Transform
Rightsize
Embed Know-How
Make It Desirable
“If Less Is More, Maybe Nothing Is Everything”
Share Functions
Increase Waste Costs
Act Collectively
Create Value
Change
Localize
Let Scarcity Be Your Inspiration
Communicate...Disseminate
Avoid Doing the Wrong Thing
Maximize Usage
Increase Awareness
Learn
Voice Your Opinion
Design For Time
Regenerate Natural Processes

Cradle to Cradle

Cradle to cradle is a holistic apporoach that applies to every type of system.

It can be defined as the design and production of products of all types in such a way that at the end of their life, they can be truly recycled (upcycled), imitating nature’s cycle with everything either recycled or returned to the earth, directly or indirectly through food, as a completely safe, nontoxic, and biodegradable nutrient.

With cradle to cradle, all the components of a product feed another product, the earth or animal, or become fuel: products are composed of either materials that biodegrade and become food for biological cycles or of technical materials that stay in closed-loop technical cycles, continually circulating as valuable nutrients for industry. It could be argued that cradle to cradle is equivalent to true sustainability – through the biological or technical components used, all products become sustainable as nothing becomes waste which cannot be reused.

Material Driven Design for Experiences (MDD)

Material Driven Design for Experiences (MDD) is a design approach that prioritizes the use of materials as a primary driver in the creation of immersive and impactful experiences. Unlike traditional design methods where materials are chosen primarily for their aesthetic or functional qualities, MDD places a strong emphasis on the inherent properties and behaviors of materials as fundamental elements in shaping the overall experience.

In MDD, designers carefully select and manipulate materials to evoke specific sensory, emotional, and cognitive responses from users. This may involve considering factors such as texture, color, opacity, flexibility, and sound properties of materials, as well as their interactions with light, temperature, and other environmental factors. By harnessing the expressive potential of materials, designers can create multi-sensory experiences that engage users on a deeper level and leave a lasting impression.

Furthermore, MDD often involves a collaborative and iterative design process that integrates insights from material scientists, engineers, artists, and other specialists. This interdisciplinary approach enables designers to push the boundaries of material innovation and explore novel ways of incorporating materials into experiential design.

Overall, Material Driven Design for Experiences seeks to redefine the role of materials in design, moving beyond their utilitarian function to become active agents in shaping the user experience. By leveraging the unique properties of materials, designers can create immersive, memorable, and transformative experiences that resonate with audiences on a profound level.

Diagram: Karana. “Material Driven Design (MDD): A Method to Design for Material Experiences.”

NEXT STEPS

This project is just a small step in a bigger conversation + mission to make better material choices for the well-being of the planet and all the living beings on it.

There are many directions for new lines of inquires and possibilities from this initial work.
Primary future work and research to continue from what has been laid out includes the following:

Further definition and analysis to how variables operate within different realms of relationships
Conduct more interviews to gain more insight and develop theme analysis

Interviews with : Clients, Project Architects, Designers, Interior Designers, General Architecture Firm Staff, Professors, Students, Researchers, Engineers, Spec Writers, Policy People, Material Reps, Material Designers, Construction Managers, Construction Workers, Fabricators
Develop the Entanglement Map in Kumu further by add questions to the map, more defintions, more links, and identifying barriers, hurdles, moments of conflict and synergy within the map to foster further research
Create a mapped decision tree with the variables as a tool for analyzing the case studies
Develop the bio-based material database template and turn it and other relevant sources into a more refined toolkit
Conduct more case studies on projects that utilize bio-based materials and conduct interviews with key people involved in the projects

LARGE SCALE

Bell Museum