Materials and Methods introduces a process-based framework for understanding and assessing the morphological and performative qualities of building materials and construction methods. In a lecture/laboratory format, students explore the reciprocal relationships among form, tectonics, and performance. The course tracks the historical development of common architectural materials as well as their contemporary cradle-to-cradle lifecycles. Emphasis is placed on the critical properties that affect material performance in buildings. In parallel, the course examines how materials are processed and assembled to become building components, tectonic systems, and ultimately how they define architectural space. 

The course is structured from the ground up, exploring construction systems sequentially through the course of the semester and emphasizing their complementary relationships. We start with site, soil, and foundations, proceed through three types of armature systems, and finish with building enclosures. In the process, we examine the primary established and emerging materials that shape these systems: concrete, steel, wood, and glass. Throughout the term, the course foregrounds the spatial opportunities, ecological impacts, and economic drivers that affect design, construction, and performance.