Of the thesis entitled:Reimagining Concrete: A Material First Design Approach
Abstract:
This
thesis
asks
the
question:
“What
if
we
began
the
creative
process
of
design
with
material?”
In
an
age
where
digital
images
dominate
the
design
process,
architecture’s
main
medium
of
expression
remains
through
matter.
In
this
thesis,
I
explore
the
creative
process
of
design
through
material
fabrication.
A
material
first
design
process
uncovers
and
draws
out
the
inherent
capacity
of
materials
through
direct
encounters.
For
eight
months,
I
trained
as
a
craftsman
in
an
Engineered
Cementitious
Composite
(ECC)
concrete
workshop.
This
fiber-reinforced
concrete
has
a
bending
strength
many
times
greater
than
ordinary
Portland
cement
concrete.
It
can
be
cast
in
thin
sections.
Yet
like
ordinary
concrete,
it
transforms
from
a
formless
solution
to
a
man-made
stone.
Working
with
my
body
and
the
senses
I
developed
an
intuitive
knowledge
of
ECC’s
capacity
and
techniques
of
concrete
fabrication.
I
then
applied
my
design
training
to
find
expressions
that
reveal
the
nature
of
ECC.
I
cast
ECC
on
fabric
forms,
draped
them
onto
supports
in
their
plastic
state,
and
watched
as
this
fluid
material
hardened
into
stone.
The examining committee is as follows:
Supervisor:
Andrew Levitt, University of Waterloo
Committee Member:
David
Correa,
University
of
Waterloo
Heinz
Koller,
University
of
Waterloo
External Reader:
Robert Cram
The
committee
has
been
approved
as
authorized
by
the
Graduate
Studies
Committee.
The
Defence
Examination
will
take
place:
Wednesday,
October
2,
2019
at
1:00pm
in
the
loft
A
copy
of
the
thesis
is
available
for
perusal
in
ARC
2106A.