High power diode laser marking and engraving of building materials

A Diomed 60W-cw high power diode laser (HPDL) has been used for the marking and engraving of various building materials, including; marble, granite, clay tiles, ceramic tiles, roof tiles, ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and clay bricks. Morphological and microstructural characteristics are presented. The basic mechanisms of marking/engraving and characteristics of the beam absorption are described. The effects of material texture, colour and laser processing parameters are reported. The work shows that engraving depths of over 2mm (0.75mm for a single pass) can be achieved on marble substrates by thermal disintegration of CaCO3 into loose CaO powder and CO2 gas. Uniform amorphous glazed lines (1-3mm line width) of a colour different from the untreated materials can be generated on clay tiles, ceramic tiles, roof tiles, clay bricks and OPC by solidification phase formation after laser melting of these materials. Effects of atmospheric conditions, for instance using O2 and Ar gas shrouds, have been examined, with different coloured marks being observed when different shroud gases are used. To demonstrate the practical worth of the process a UMIST crest has been marked on a ceramic tile using the system. Laser beam reflectivity is found to depend not only on material composition but also its colour. Reflectivity has been found to range between 12% to 18% for the various construction materials used in the experiment, except for marble (grey) which showed over 27% reflectivity. Since the HPDL is a portable device, in-field application of these processing techniques can be realised, which would be either impossible or difficult when using other types of lasers

Decorative renders simulating stone of middle 20th century in the region of Lisbon

Housing and public urban buildings of the middle 20th century period, in Portugal, are characterized by a sober, rather severe, architectural and constructive design, known as “Estado Novo” period. In the region of Lisbon, the façades of many of those buildings are covered with a very durable unpainted decorative type of render, called “marmorite”. Considering that cementitious binders were already often used in that period, both in structural elements and in coatings, and due to the darkening effect of fungus, soiling and pollution, there was a generalized belief that marmorite renders were cement-based mortars. As a consequence, repair interventions used materials and techniques chosen for cementitious renders. However, the characterization of the marmorite render of the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering main building, in Lisbon, revealed that the render was composed by air lime, limestone and marble. Later, an experimental characterization campaign of samples of marmorite renders of 20 other buildings in the region of Lisbon revealed that they were generally composed by air lime, sometimes coloured with an inorganic pigment, and mainly limestone and marble aggregates of different colours selected to obtain an aesthetic effect.authorsversionpublishe

Compositional structures in mural design : towards a site-specific deconstructive mural methodology

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)Murals have been the formal visual interpretation of the cultural, social and political life of all ages. Throughout they have been consistently combined with their architectural setting, for example, in ancient Egyptian tombs, in Renaissance churches and on the external walls of buildings in Mexico in the twentieth century. This is a central feature of mural painting. However many contemporary murals do not integrate with their architectural settings, in other words, do not fulfil the site-specificity of the architectural spaces for which they were made. This means that the most important aspect that distinguishes murals from other types of painting is absent. I studied and analysed a number of murals produced in the Italian Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo as this particular period is considered to be not only one of the most significant in the history of art but also a period in which painting and architecture were very closely allied as practices. In particular the radical developments in painting of pictorial space took place along side the developments in architecture. I argue that Renaissance murals could be described, using the terminology of contemporary art, as site-specific art. By identifying the relationship between pictorial space, architectural space and compositional structure I was able to test, through my own practice, the importance of these relationships in understanding the site-specificity of the compositional structure of murals. To address the issue of sitespecificity in murals, I investigated and developed a set of compositional structures through my mural practice that could be applied in the design, execution, and teaching of contemporary mural design. I have developed the notion of a deconstructive method of mural design in which the illusory space of the mural derives its compositional structure from the architectural space in which it sited. I have applied it, tested it and refined it through the execution of a number of hypothetical and live mural commissions. I believe that the approach to the study and practice of mural design I have developed from the perspective of a practice lead researcher contributes to the furtherance of mural design as both a profession and field of study. In particular the identification of compositional structures in mural design and the proposal of a deconstructive method contributes to our understanding of what a mural is as well as current notions of site-specificity in contemporary art

The Ideal and the Real: interior linings in 1930s New Zealand homes

The choices made by New Zealanders in terms of how they line the floors, walls and ceilings of their homes, both today and in the past, is driven by various influencing factors. These include economic factors such as supply and demand, changes in technology, societal norms, as well as the agency of people themselves, ranging from the manufacturer and supplier to the designer and homeowner. In 1930s' New Zealand, architectural and building publications aimed to influence consumer behavior in terms of the products and methods used to design, construct and decorate buildings. These magazines also played a pivotal role in both reflecting and shaping current societal ideals and the associated ideal homes, which are almost always the homes of the middle and upper classes. This paper takes a case study approach by looking at the first eleven issues of the Home & Building magazine between October/November 1936 and November 1939, extracting from these the construct of the ideal home interior and the types of interior linings that were advertised and used for this purpose in the homes that are presented. To investigate the extent to which these trends are reflected in the homes of real New Zealanders, a sample of Wellington building consents and historical interior photographs available through DigitalNZ are used

Islamic ceramic ornamentation and process: proposals for a new aesthetic vocabulary in contemporary architectural embellishment within kuwait

Islamic architecture is arguably one of the greatest manifestations of Islamic visual culture. One of the defining aspects of the unique, aesthetic richness of traditional Islamic architecture has been the application of ceramic ornamentation or embellishment. There is a growing concern, however, that this legacy is being eroded. The diminishing identity of Islamic visual culture is particularly evident through current architectural developments occurring in the Arab states. The building revolution in the Gulf countries has dramatically increased momentum since the onset of the ‗oil economy‘, echoing the phenomena of globalization. This research project explores these concerns, discussing the erosion of Islamic ‗identity‘ within contemporary architecture in the Gulf States and in particularly Kuwait, as well as the ensuing decline in the use of ceramics as a defining embellishment material. The research compares the aesthetics of traditional and contemporary Islamic architectural design, whilst also examining the reasons behind this erosion in traditional design style. The diminishing identity of Islamic visual culture is investigated by combining studies in the fields of art, aesthetics, design, architecture, and the social sciences, in order to understand the nature of the research problem. A series of case-studies demonstrates how ceramics may be used to re-introduce a sense of Islamic identity within contemporary architecture. This offers design proposals, new materials and technical processes that acknowledge the rich traditions of Islamic Ceramics while also being appropriate for application within the context of contemporary Islamic architecture detailing; blending contemporary aesthetics and technical thinking with traditional Islamic design. The aim of the case-studies is to offer proposals for a new aesthetic vocabulary of architectural embellishment that is both appropriate to and innovative within, the context of contemporary Islamic architecture. This new aesthetic vocabulary III specifically blends contemporary design principals, new materials and technical processes, whilst acknowledging the rich traditions of Islamic ceramics. The PhD project, applies two types of research methodology: theoretical research and practice-based research. The former focused on social sciences and applied quantitative and qualitative research approaches, including surveys and interviews undertaken within Kuwait. The findings obtained from these surveys verified the emergence of a new cultural style of contemporary architecture and shaped the practice-based element of the project; proposals for ceramic embellishment that are contemporary, while still reflecting many recognizable aspects of traditional Islamic design. The new architectural style can be attributed to factors such as globalization, the adoption of international building styles, and a seeming unwillingness to incorporate traditional styles into new building design, all of which contribute to the currently weak identity of Arabic / Islamic ceramics within Kuwait. Despite of this, the survey revealed that Kuwaiti society maintains a strong relationship and affiliation with Islamic culture, although many seemed unaware of their own rich culture and its past legacy. The practice-based research involved two distinct phases. The first phase involved the development of a large number (172) of new glazes. The glazes were intended to reflect the palette of colours used over generations of Islamic Ceramic culture, while still being appropriate for integration within the contemporary Islamic architectural environment. The second phase of practice involved a series of case studies, embracing a wide range of contemporary architectural ceramic design processes (including 2 and 3 Dimensional geometrical patterns and interpretations of contemporary calligraphic design). The case studies utilised a number of modern technologies, such as 3D Solid modelling, CNC Rapid Prototyping and Laser-cutting, to prove that modern design and manufacturing technologies can be integrated within traditional ceramic processes. The aim being to both provide ceramic products that architects and designers can use to enhance the modern IV architectural environment of Kuwait and re-establish the creative status of ceramics

Famous architectures in urban contexts: the impact of colours and materials

Architecture is not just a container or a place in which it is possible to perform functions; architecture is everything that surrounds us, it is the space in which we immerse ourselves and with which we communicate. It is not the shape of the project that first influences our perception of space, whether it is open or closed, but the colours and materials that characterise and define it, making it harmonious and pleasant or, in the opposite way, hostile and inhospitable. In 1981 the UNI 8289:1981 "Construction. Needs of the final user. Classification" defined the term "well-being" as "the set of conditions relating to states of the building system appropriate to life, to health, to the performance of the users' activities", how do colours and materials contribute to the conditions of well-being? Which are the targets that can be achieved through the wise use of these elements? The aim of this work is to analyse the application of colours and materials in famous architectures in order to determinate the impact at urban and human level, how they dialogue with the context and how they dialogue with human perceptions, identifying three directions of intervention: colour and materials as anthropomorphic relation, colours and materials as pictorial support, colour and materials as function

Recycled Glass as Aggregate for Architectural Mortars

Abstract The possibility of recycling mixed colour waste glass as it is for manufacturing decorative architectural mortars, has been investigated. In mortars, the 0–33–66–100% of calcareous gravel volume has been replaced with recycled glass cullets, with no other inorganic addition. To mitigate the possible alkali–silica reaction, mixes with a hydrophobic admixture were also compared. The obtained results show that the replacement of calcareous gravel with glass cullets of similar grain size distribution permits to reduce the dosage of the superplasticizer admixture to obtain the same workability of fresh mortar; it does not affect significantly the mechanical performances, the water vapour permeability and the capillary water absorption but it reduces significantly the drying shrinkage deformation. The used recycled glass is classified as no reactive in terms of alkali–silica reaction neither in water nor in NaOH solution following the parameters of the current normative, even in the absence of the hydrophobic admixture. The hydrophobic admixture further delays the expansion trigger but not the speed of its propagation

Materiality in Roman Art and Architecture

Material is the substance of the world of things. Literary sources suggest that materiality was part of aesthetic perception, loaded with meaning and bound to function even in antiquity. To date, this complex reading of material has not been adequately represented in archaeological research. The present volume addresses this oversight by examining the decorative use of material in Roman Italy between the Late Republic and Early Imperial period

Origin of Roman worked stones from St. Saturno christian Basilica (south Sardinia, Italy)

The work aims to define the origin of the architectural stone elements worked by Romans and reused in the St. Saturno Basilica, between the late Antiquity and Romanesque periods. Thus, different rocks (marbles, various facies of limestones, volcanic rocks) used to construct the ancient building were sampled and analysed. All the different kinds of stones were sampled from the Basilica, taking precise reference to the various construction phases and structural changes of the monument occurred in the centuries. The sedimentary and volcanic lithologies belong to the local outcrops of Cagliari Miocenic geological formation (e.g. limestone) and to other volcanic outcrops of south Sardinia, respectively. By means of a multi-method archaeometric study (mineralogical-petrographic observations on thin sections and O-18 vs C-13 stable isotope ratio analysis), the provenance of classical marbles used for manufacturing Roman architectural elements (column shafts, bases, capitals, slabs, etc.) were defined, which are thought to come from extra-regional sources. The results show that the marbles come mainly from Apuan Alps (Italy) and subordinately from Greek quarrying areas