Now in its third edition the physical manifestation of the popular Transmaterial webblog has recently been released by the publisher and is now available at your book outlet of choice. Mine arrived from Amazon Monday (to my surprise, I pre-ordered and completely lost track of time).
For those of you not familiar with Mr. Brownell or Transmaterial the work aggregated and researched by Mr. Brownell typically is in response to the desire of the materiality of design, either through expressive/communicative, performance or efficiency characteristics studied through the Transstudio research and design group. Mr. Brownell current teaches at the University of Minnesota and is an avid research/writer and lecturer.
A guide such as Transmaterial fulfills two of the most necessary components of creating a built environment, the proffering of materials to fulfill required tasks (not easily obtainable by "standard" materials) and by constantly demonstrating the continuous research and development of new materials from which to design, build and aspire. Granted many of the materials illustrated in the Transmaterial books are not necessarily affordable (see cheap when compared to existing materials) however they are not meant as simple replacement for existing systems but marked improvements in performance, environmental consideration (footprint) and customability/usability. I was extremely pleased to discover just how many of the materials in the book were being developed by companies in the United States (easing access) and have already begun book marking pages for my wish list to someday see available in Cleveland (or where ever I end up doing whatever I am doing).
In more than one way the book is fabulous design porn. Materials are organized by material makeup (concrete, wood, metal, etc.), complete with thumbnail images, brief descriptions of material contents, applications, types/sizes, environmental concerns/benefits, testing/examination certificates, product limitation and the ever important manufacturing contact to find if the product is indeed available in your project's area.
At the very least it is fantastic to see what new materials are being made available for use and may even help in one's own development of project design through materiality, which makes the book well worth the purchase price in itself.
Transmaterial also offers a weekly email subscription of new materials. Granted the materials you receive are typically also showcased in the following book release, however the book contains over 200 products which is more than you would have access to via email along, you also get a rather nice bit of reading material that you can mark up and book mark for future reference.
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