Madeira: da matéria ao material, aos novos produtos, à construção - o material, o individuo e o tempo

Abstract

In the first major chapter, an initial approach to wood will be made, so that one can comprehend the material itself and its properties and characteristics, having always in consideration - and as comparison terms - concrete and steel. To that end, and on a short introduction, the major traditional construction systems and all timber construction in general, all over the world and throughout time, will be referred to, inciding, in the end, over its situation in Portugal. Secondly, and as before mentioned, all wood characteristics and properties will be explained - starting on its chemical composition -, comprehension of which is essential to the understanding of how new products emerged and of how they may, still, be able to evolve. Afterwards, but still in this first major chapter, the versatility of wood and its diverse uses and applications beyond construction will be demonstrated - which will complement the previously disclosed information in the sense of comprehending wood as a material, as matter. The second major chapter will adress the most recent technologies on wood construction - which quickly evolved after the appearence of the first synthetic glues -, with a short reference to the furniture Alvar Aalto designed with these technologies. Each of these will be duly explained and, when suitable, accompanied by examples where it has been applied. The issue of Sustainability will be equally approached. In this chapter, wood's role on the path for a sustainable development of the planet will be explained. In a final moment, three case studies - all of them using wooden structures - will be subject to a deeper approach: architect Peter Zumthor's Sogn Benedetg Chapel, the Guest House in Sintra, by Álvaro Siza and António Madureira and, at last, an unbuilt project, of my authorship - located in Siem Reap, Cambodia -, held under the discipline of Project during my exchange year in Paris. The analisys of this last project takes the opportunity to show both a context, a way of thinking and, consequently, projecting, or doing project, significantly different from those we are accustomed to. This final approach will confront the three projects, centering itself not only on the similarities and differences between them, but also focusing on the effect wood has on the user, enphasizing the way materials affect space and, equally, the presence of the body, or its self-consciousness, in the same space.