The Stories Materials Tell
Each material has its specific characteristics which we must understand if we want to use it. And just as we acquaint ourselves with materials, just as we must understand functions, so we must become familiar with the psychological and spiritual factors of our day. No cultural activity is possible otherwise; for we are dependent on the spirit of our time.
- Mies Van Der Rohe
When Mies says “specific characteristics”, he’s probably talking about engineering properties. I wish he had gone further; designers need to understand the psychological and spiritual factors of the materials themselves. What connotations and emotions, separate from engineering properties, do materials carry?
Ambergris
Quiet luxury, antique, windy, maritime nature, 19th century America/ 16th century Italy, refined decadence, whale cultures (Nantucket, Japan), salt, dryness, sunlight, fog.
from ambergris.co.nz
Ambergris is a sperm whale secretion that begins as viscous liquid floating on the sea. The sea and sun season the liquid so that it gradually congeals and hardens into tight, waxy lumps. Ambergris smells like sweetened isopropyl alcohol and bleeds slowly when punctured. Ambergris is used for perfume, it’s very expensive, and could completely change the feel of a simple wood chair or cabinet if used as an inlay.
Gold
Mesoamerica, round tastes, weight, potential energy, fat, nighttime, chocolate, red fabric, depth, indulgence, warm stone, fire, bass tones.
gold pills by Tobias Wong
Despite all this, gold is completely neutral in the body and is one of the cleanest conductors of electrical signals. I want to design a solid gold hotplate just for melting chocolate.
Bamboo
Precision, coldness, East Asia, bright rusticism, book-smarts, impermanence, speed, high notes, celibacy, asceticism.
Bamboo Bike by Calfee Design
Right now, bamboo is enjoying popularity fueled by its beautiful similarity to natural wood. It can grow up to a meter a day in seductively frilly groves, and it’s natural tube shape affords all kinds of smart designs.
Leather
Horn instruments, traditional luxury, tobacco, control, mid-tones, mediated sexuality, street-smarts, warmth, ambition.
From sharp business bags to motorcycle gear, leather strongly connotes agency and control. It’s traditionally tanned by fermenting raw animal hides in urine until the hairs fall away, then pounding them with a paste of brains, lye, and dog or pigeon dung. I wonder how this intense process could be articulated through the leather product.
Concrete
Competence, aged cleanliness, damp morning, commitment, impersonality, moss, possibility.
Concrete makes me think of Tadao Ando’s austere yet bright and open architecture. It’s strong and heavy but has an unassuming feel. When concrete is poured into a mold made from wood boards, it takes on the grain’s texture. If tannins didn’t cause it to leach into water, I would have used concrete for the porcelain parts of Sorapot.
Products begin as stories the designer wants to tell, problems the designer wants to solve, or both. Materials translate the designer’s intended story into something the user can understand. Plastic’s ubiquity has made this even more true- users notice when designers talk to them through material selection because deviation from plastic is so rare.
3 Comments
April 4th, 2007 at 3:40 am
Love the site, the ideas and the products. Your approach to life and design syncs perfectly with the principles of living PrairieMod. Keep up the great work–we’ll keep checking back.
May 3rd, 2007 at 9:23 am
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October 27th, 2007 at 7:27 am
[...] His thoughts on the world and how he translates these insights into his product designs are very intriguing. We especially enjoyed a recent post he wrote about the stories various materials tell (like gold, concrete, bamboo and leather.) He chose a quote from Mies van der Rohe to begin this particular post with, which naturally piqued our interest — though, we would have suggested a quote from a master architect who knew a little more about the sublime use of natural materials. [...]