As architecture and design programmes throughout the world break out of the classroom and adopt the holistic methods of design/build programs, Materials for Architectural Design 2 bridges the gap between construction materials and design sensibility.

Authors Victoria Ballard Bell and Patrick Rand have revisited the format of their award-winning book Materials For Architectural Design and present in the new volume sixty new case studies of materials put to imaginative use by today’s brightest architects. Bell and Rand introduce each material type - glass, concrete, wood, metal, plastic and masonry units - with new text describing its history and significance. Accessible case studies highlight recent advances in design and construction around the world - from a wooden church in Finland (JKMM Architects) and hand-crafted bamboo huts in Thailand (TYIN Tegnetsue Architects) to a bank encased in a glass shroud in Denmark (Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects) and a museum faced with thousands of multicoloured ceramic rods in Germany (Sauerbruch Hutton).

In a materials landscape that constantly changes to meet the demands of contemporary designers, Materials for Architectural Design 2 is an up-to-date guide to the best and most exciting materials at their disposal.

As architecture and design programmes throughout the world break out of the classroom and adopt the holistic methods of design/build programs, Materials for Architectural Design 2 bridges the gap between construction materials and design sensibility.

Authors Victoria Ballard Bell and Patrick Rand have revisited the format of their award-winning book Materials For Architectural Design and present in the new volume sixty new case studies of materials put to imaginative use by today’s brightest architects. Bell and Rand introduce each material type - glass, concrete, wood, metal, plastic and masonry units - with new text describing its history and significance. Accessible case studies highlight recent advances in design and construction around the world - from a wooden church in Finland (JKMM Architects) and hand-crafted bamboo huts in Thailand (TYIN Tegnetsue Architects) to a bank encased in a glass shroud in Denmark (Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects) and a museum faced with thousands of multicoloured ceramic rods in Germany (Sauerbruch Hutton).

In a materials landscape that constantly changes to meet the demands of contemporary designers, Materials for Architectural Design 2 is an up-to-date guide to the best and most exciting materials at their disposal.


Victoria Ballard Bell is a licensed architect, with MA degrees from the University of Virginia in both architecture and urban planning. The recipient of the Alpha Rho Chi medal for leadership, scholarship and service, she was also a Frederick P. Rose Fellow. She practices in Raleigh, North Carolina. Patrick Rand, FAIA, is a Distinguished Professor of Architecture at NC State University, where his research focuses on the relationship between design and construction technologies. Rand maintains a small architecture and consulting practice.