TILE / CERAMICS

More to come. . . .

METAL

You will never guess the type of metal I saw yesterday.  It was a copper alloy, perhaps, brass with what look like and Angel Hair surface.  I'll add the photos tomorrow.

CONCRETE

These are examples of concrete on the GW Main Campus.  The railings, steps and sidewalk are all concrete.

This is the underside of a parking garage.  The concrete is supported by METAL steel beams.

I was shocked to see that the ceiling for the inner rooms of the National Gallery of Art are formed concrete.  It's widely used through out the building.

Concrete is a very diverse building material.  It can be used for walls, interior and exterior, floors and ceilings.  Here are examples of reinforced and formed concrete.

TEXTILES

More to come . . . .

WOOD

More to come. . . .

GLASS

More to come. . .

LIVING WITH SUSTAINABILITY

Our Professor ended the course lectures yesterday with the subject Sustainability.  He showed us a long list of materials and textiles that are considered truly sustainable.  His insights to the practicality of some new products was invaluable.  As a new designers, I can see us wanting to use the latest and greatest products available.  There is an important question to ask before making final decisions, how financially practical is that particular choice?  Cost compared to use must be considered.
The world of sustainability is a huge one but it's exciting to see the possibilities and how innovative designers and manufacturers have become.  When I look back on my years in undergrad in the early 70s, many of these ideas were being implemented by a culture called "hippies", especially if they were living in group communities.  It's amusing to see what was fad nearly 40 years ago are mainstream now.  Is that because the boomers today are yesterday's hippies?