When you think of a building – whatever scale or project type, the items that go to create that building are most frequently associated with the materials that are selected the define the appearance of the building. Brick, glass, wood, and metal are all great choices – but the decision on what to clad your project in goes a long way towards deciding things beyond the appearance. . … Welcome to EP 121: Material Selection

[Note: If you are reading this via email, click here to access the on-site audio player]  








The "When" jump to 4:13

When does it happen in the process? Is it early? Late? All the time? Do architects do it differently?

These were the questions we discussed in this section and one revelation that I discovered was that I have never had a conversation with another architect about when in the process they choose their materials. For me, the first time I start thinking about the materiality of the projects really has more to do with when I start assembling my drawings. If I am going to consider using a masonry wall - I don't need to know which brick I am going to use, just whether or not I need to provide a certain thickness wall that will accommodate using masonry.

We also discussed when we start making those decisions. Andrew thinks that due to the nature of the projects he works on (K-12 schools), clients frequently drive the "when". One of the things that has evolved over the last few years is our use of visualization software that depicts a more finished product. I discussed this in greater detail in the article "Renderings for Residential Design" about how we are indicating a more finished product MUCH earlier than in years past. I'm not entirely convinced this is a good thing because it moves the conversation more along the lines of "I don't like that color of brick" rather than talking about how the space works.





The "Why" jump to 12:51

Why choose the material? What are the considerations? Do certain clients value characteristics over others?

Cost: This is a major consideration and driver in almost every decision that is made. When we get a budget (and we always have a budget) right out of the gate that will influence materiality. Where is the material coming from - am I paying a premium to get a certain material for my project? We also discuss how labor is almost always more expensive than materials. Due to the remote nature of some of the projects I have worked on, and the lack of specifically trained skilled labor, we will not use certain materials. For example, finding a mason in Northern Wisconsin is not as simple as you might think and if I want to build a brick wall, I'm having to import a brick mason in from another part of the state.

Performance - Maintenance - Durability - Climate: Maintenance and climate are strong motivators driving material selection and both of those drive performance. For Andrew, especially with his public work, how the material performs contributes directly towards its consideration for selection. Can we select a material that doesn't need to be painted (think burnished block versus painted CMU) so you are trading upfront material cost for long-term reduced maintenance cost. Also, choosing a material based on climate and the labor market that develops to support that selection ... let's consider wood siding. I rarely get to use wood on the exterior of my projects because it requires routinely scheduled maintenance to keep it from falling apart or looking shabby. Even if I paint it, and despite the readily available labor market we have in Texas, we do not have the same robust industry of home painters here that you might find along the east coast. Few clients are interested in stripping down and repainting their house every few years because it is an expensive process.

Availability - This might be a bigger consideration for some architects than others. The project that I started that was remotely located in Wyoming was challenged due to a lack of concrete...