The Materiality of the Surface

• The aim of the project, “The Materiality of the Surface”, is to examine if, and in that case how the way of using different materials when forming space is connected with different cultures’ conceptions of space. The paper summarizes the outcome of this project, which is financed by the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish government agency for research. The research project is based at the School of Design and Crafts, the Faculty of Fine, Applied and Performing Arts, University of Gothenburg and has been going on from 2006 to 2009. It will be presented in the form of an exhibition and a publication in autumn 2009 at the Swedish Design Museum, Rohsska, in Gothenburg. The study is a continuation of the thesis Japanese rooms, where Japanese conceptions of space are discussed in relation to characteristics of emptiness and changeability in traditional and contemporary Japanese architecture, by means of a phenomenological approach and also through hermeneutic interpretations. In Japanese cultural tradition, space is conceived as a subjective perception, a physical experience and a changeable process, which differs from European tradition. In “The Materiality of the Surface”, the relation that different architects have to ways of using different building materials when forming space is examined and studied, according to different conceptions of space. The study includes contemporary Swedish and Japanese architecture, and in the first, more theoretical part of the project, two Swedish and two Japanese architects’/architectural offices’ works are examined and compared, and the point of departure is their relation to materials and spatial conceptions. The Japanese architects/architectural offices are Kengo Kuma & Associates/Kengo Kuma and SANAA/Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa and the Swedish ones are Wingardhs/Gert Wingardh and Claesson Koivisto Rune/Marten Claesson. The other part of the project “The Materiality of the Surface” comprises empirical studies and examinations through design and laboratory work and focuses primarily on the building material glass. The project includes glass design – how to change the characteristics of materiality by using different techniques such as laminating and screen printing glass. Since the project includes the production of design work, it therefore belongs to the field of artistic research. The two persons working on this project are: Kristina Fridh, PhD/architect and Thomas Laurien, textile designer, who specializes in surface design. Combining the competencies of an architect and a textile designer is a new way of approaching the main questions of the project.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Konst -- Design (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Arts -- Design (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Konst -- Arkitektur (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Arts -- Architecture (hsv//eng)

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