Research in the history of architecture has mainly focused : (1) on origins, theories and ideas, (2) on architectural objects and their design methods. Apart from a few very specific cases, architects and periods (Labrouste and cast iron, Perret and concrete, Prouvé and metal, etc.), it focused less on the process of manufacturing itself : production (sectors, choices of industrialization, transition from R&D to development, etc.) and design. Through the process of manufacturing, the link between “how it's made” and “how it's designed” appears, and questions how matter is aestheticized or used as a aesthetic statement in a global architectural proposal.

However, a history of materiality, therefore of “doing” as one inherent qualities of architecture, is inseparable from the history of major changes and key challenges that architecture has faced over time. Whether it is the beginnings of industrialization, mass production with concrete, the rise of the digital tools, collaborations between architect and engineer, or nowadays even the shocks of the climate crisis, cultural and technical evolutions have each time upset traditions, professions, processes, sectors...

The session is organized around this idea of mutations in two parts. The first, featuring three oral contributions, focuses on the "comeback" of traditional materials (raw earth, ashlar and wood) on the contemporary architectural and construction scene, analyzing the respective adaptations and refinements of their use in an unprecedented context dominated by new digital tools. The second will take the form of a round-table discussion, examining recent changes in architectural materiality through the prism of its disappearance (preservation), new construction practices (prefabrication) and its representation (3D rendering).

Talks :

• Julien NOURDIN, Thierry JOFFROY - L’évolution des méthodes de mise en œuvre et de fabrication des matériaux en terre crue dans la production contemporaine architecturale
• Raphaël VOUILLOZ, Philippe MARIN - Conception-fabrication d’une stéréotomie contemporaine : quels sont les impacts des procédés numériques sur l’architecture en pierre de taille
• Mathilde PLANCHOT - Concevoir des logements collectifs employant le bois : un processus à l’épreuve de la technique
• Catherine BLAIN - La disparition de l'architecture du 20e siècle : une fatalité ?
• Eva MADEC - Vers une éco-préfabrication ?
• Loïc SAGNARD - Rendu 3D et préfiguration du projet architectural représenter la matière en images de synthèse
• Round table with the speakers