Blaine Brownell

Most books that collect multiples of certain things, such as buildings, partition them into chapters defined by typology or some other characteristic. That applies even more to a catalog such as this fourth Transmaterial book by architect Blaine Brownell. Here the chapters are material categories: concrete, metal, glass, digital, and so forth. But the small tabs on the edge of the cover hint at two more layers of definition. On the right side are such qualities as interfacial, intelligent, repurposed, and transformational, while on the left side are three broad categories: material, product, and process. Each of the more than 100 entries is defined by one of each, so readers can hone in on certain applications or qualities and find them fairly easily. Nevertheless, I can't help but continue to think that information in the Transmaterial books (previously I reviewed Transmaterial and Transmaterial 2) would be better in digital form – where entries can be cross referenced and changes made more easily – rather than in printed matter.… (mehr)

This is Blaine Brownell's fifth book with PAPress, following three Transmaterial titles and the excellent Matter in the Floating World. With his Transmaterial website and series of books, Brownell has become a valuable resource in the architectural community for innovative materials and applications. Material Strategies focuses on the latter, how various materials are applied to create striking buildings. It's no surprise that "disruptive technologies and applications" are an important part of the book. The categorization of materials (mineral, concrete, wood, metal, glass, plastic) echoes other books dealing with the same subject matter, but Brownell only skims the technical aspects to focus on the way certain materials are used formally. Unfortunately many of the images in each chapter overview are too small for understanding, but this is overcome in the case studies.… (mehr)