Process: Material and Representation in Architecture

This book examines the interrelationship of representational methods and material systems as fundamental drivers of the design process. Identifying four primary categories of representational logics - point, line, surface, mass - each category is illustrated through four precedent projects that deploy iterative material sensibilities. As a collection, this text provides a comprehensive categorization of the architectural design process.

Through the comprehensive definition of categorical typologies, it illustrates the collective capability of this conceptual methodology. By unpacking projects through their specific design devices, the collective analysis reveals the impact of material techniques and methods of representation as a generative tool. Broad in scope, it identifies and uniformly analyses some of the most significant projects from the last century, including:

• UK Pavilion Shanghai - Heatherwick Studio, Shanghai,China
• Gatehouse - Office dA, Beijing, China
• Maison Colonial - Jean Prouve, France/Africa
• de Young Museum - Herzog and de Meuron, California USA
• Montreal Expo 67 - Buckminster Fuller, Montreal, Canada
• Jean Marie Tjibou Cultural Center – RPBW, Noumea, Indonesia
• House III - Peter Eisenman, New York, USA
• Barcelona Pavilion - Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona, Spain
• Tel Aviv - Scott Cohen, Tel Aviv, Israel
• Los Manantiales - Felix Candella, Mexico City, Mexico
• Yokahama Terminal – FOA, Yokahama, Japan
• Pantheon, Rome, Italy
• Tres Grand Bibliotheque - Rem Koolhaas, OMA, Paris, France
• Brother Claus Field Chapel - Peter Zumthor, Switzerland
• Embryonic House- Greg Lynn

Richly illustrated with consistent, clear and precise line drawings, the book presents a series of iconic precedents through a unique analytical and graphic sensibility.

Gail Peter Borden attended Rice University, simultaneously receiving Bachelor of Arts degrees (all cum laude) in fine arts, art history, and architecture. Upon graduation, he won the prestigious William Ward Watkins Traveling Fellowship, the AIA Certificate for Excellence, the Chillman Prize, and the John Swift Medal in Fine Arts. After receiving a Texas Architectural Foundation Scholarship, Professor Borden returned to Rice for his BARCH, also cum laude. He went on to Harvard University's Graduate School of Design to complete a postprofessional Masters of Architecture with distinction.In addition to holding a tenured position as associate professor at the University of Southern California, Borden is the architecture discipline head and director of the graduate architecture programs. As principal of Borden Partnership since 2002, his design work has won numerous recognitions including: the Architectural League Prize; the AIA Young Architect Award; Building Design and Construction magazine's “40 Under 40” award; and numerous AIA, ACSA, and RADA awards. Borden received artist-in-residence awards from the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas; the Atlantic Center for the Arts; the Borchard Fellowship; and the MacDowell Colony. His teaching has been recognized with an ACSA New Faculty Teaching Award as one of the top emerging architecture faculty. His first book, Material Precedent: The Typology of Modern Tectonics, published in 2010 (Wiley Press); his second, Matter: Material Processes in Architectural Production, published in 2011 (Routledge) his third Principia: Architectural Principles of Material Form, published in 2013 (Pearson); and this book Process: Material and Representation in Architecture (Routledge) all focus on materiality.As an artist, theoretician, and practitioner, Professor Borden's research and practice focuses on the role of materiality and architecture in contemporary culture.