Session #113

– Paper Presentations –

This session focuses on exposed concrete, treatments and finishings applied directly on the surfaces of the material, celebrating an architecture of the senses and seeking to reconnect with people’s intimate understanding of their lands. The subject is particularly timely, given an often-exorcising discourse around concrete, but also ongoing discussions on user-centric architecture.

In countries of the global periphery and idiomatic expressions of modernity, where resonances of the mainstream exist(ed) in syntony with voices looking to affirm local identities, architects have actively sustained, through symbiotic forms/colours/textures of exposed concrete, an ongoing dialogue with nature, climate, light, the land’s contour, and people’s communities. Similarly, care became a synonym of craft in the rough concrete surfaces of New Brutalism, which Henley (2017) connects to the Arts and Crafts tradition, rooted in the British way of life. The theme of this call builds on Leatherbarrow’s rationale (2000) for placemaking and an architecture that weaves tacit relations with the community by actively reviving historical memory through construction, as well as on Forty’s discourse (2012) on concrete’s versatility in bolstering regional cultural tropes.

We are looking for studies of architectural work(s) that showcase, for example:

• a meticulous design of raw concrete’s formwork and joints’ traces
• the incorporation of decorative elements
• direct application of specific colour hues
• finishings achieved by etching, hammering, scratching
• the addition of locally sourced aggregates, and/or carefully selected bonding agents.

Contributions should preferably look at works dating roughly from the 1970s onwards, and aim to:

– redefine raw concrete’s liveability through connections threaded between various ecosystems (people, land, historical memory, design), and manifested in crafting details, surface treatments, and/or novel interpretations of traditional construction.

– illustrate the potential raw concrete holds for a harmonic co-existence with natural and more sustainably pronounced materials, within extended networks of social and cultural meaning.

Online presentations will be possible but the intention is for the session to work on a blended format (both online and in person). Please state whether you are interested in presenting online or in person, when submitting your abstract.

References

Leatherbarrow, D. (2000). Uncommon ground: architecture, technology, and topography. Cambridge, Mass.; London: MIT Press.

Forty, A. (2012). Concrete and culture: a material history. London: Reaktion.

Henley, S. (2017). Redefining Brutalism. London: RIBA Publishing.