Tiles Around town

I was in a random ice cream shop and was enamored by the glitzy, pearlescent tile they had on the walls. I thought it did a great job of translating the creamy, cool aspect of ice cream. Depending on where you were standing it gave a different color and sheen. When I have my own home that I can design at my leisure, I will want a tile similar to this in either my kitchen or bathroom. Very feminine !

Metal Around Town

Once again I was in Georgetown (I'm addicted to the cupcakes!) and I took some snapshots of the metal I saw. Again, a wide variety in the types of metal used in the area.

Outdoor enclosed awning of Dean and Deluca

wrought iron door to an apartment building

close up of the black wrought iron

corrugated metal doors

Tin ceiling square

exposed ductwork and steel beams in a clothing store

Metal curtain to dressing room in a clothing store

more tin tiles

Stone Around Town

Here are some shots I took around Georgetown of stone, brick, and concrete. Georgetown is a really great precedent for these materials because most of the buildings are made of brick and the streets are lined with cobble stone. I saw a wide variety in the types of finishes of the brick. Enjoy the shots below...

white washed brick 

peeling of the white washed brick

brick and stone juxtaposition

office and condo complex made entirely of brick

close up of the brick used in complex

I thought it was interesting how moss was growing in the grout of the brick

concrete column

close up of the aggregate of the concrete

cobble stone sidewalk

random array of large stones

faux concret columns in a clothing store

Moulding Assembling Designing; Ceramics in Architecture

1. Spanish products generally use the single firing method for ceramic tiles
2. the usual dimensions of tiles are 10x10 cm to 60x60 cm and the main shape is rectangular
3. porcelain has the lowest water absorption

Architectural Metal Surfaces by L. William Zahner

1. New term= anodizing: a common form of protection, one that utilizes the more metallic nature of the surface. Anodic oxidation of the metal surface
2. With Al, anodizing reduces its reflectivity. 
3. copper absorbs and reflects the red side of the visual light spectrum. It can have a firey, flamelike appearance when hit by natural light.
4. steel is mostly considered a utilitarian material
5. steel is ACTUALLY a greenish blue- blue gray in color
6. steel's color and surface characteristics makes the connection to strength and substance

The Meaning of Materials by Frank Lloyd Wright

1. I know Wright is a visionary when it comes to architecture and design but his writing... and this is based off of the 2 readings we've had from him, I'm not a fan.
2. good quote: "each material has its own message and to the creative artist, its own song."
3. stone is the oldest building material known to man
4. why does a block of stone have to be a square? is that more structurally sound than say a rectangle?
5. why in his opinion did the Greeks ruin stone?

The Material Without A History by Adrian Forty

1. In the first paragraph of the reading, why does the author assert that concrete does not have its own identity, form, or style?
2. Why hasn't concrete or the use of concrete research expanded through the years?
3. What did Wright mean when he called concrete a "mongrel material'?