Junk

Abstract

Architecture can be broken down into three components: materials, structures, and construction methods (wall section). Ordinary building materials that typically come to mind are stone, timber, steel, concrete, and glass. More contemporary architecture may also utilize materials from hay bales to discarded tires to construct “green architecture”. In order to do so architects need to come up with more innovative construction methods and structures to integrate these unconventional materials. These three components (materials, structures, and construction methods) are interdependent. They can not be designed independently, nor can they be designed simultaneously. Inevitably one of these components has to be picked out as the main component in order for the other two components to be designed around it. Materials affect the project’s budget, the look of a building, and it may also be the most important component to consider in the future architecture. “Green Architecture” often refers to the concept of “reuse, reduce, and recycle”. The best sustainable strategy concerning materials is reuse. Reuse of materials has to take place first, and then reduction of material consumption will follow. In the worst case, if materials can not be reused, then they should be recycled. The main thesis here will be to investigate how “Junk” can be reconstructed into “Green Architecture” through innovative construction methods and structures.