Parallel to the early development and recent widespread usage of composite materials in building and manufacturing, the material science of Functionally Graded Materials (FGM) was initiated and developed as far back as the 1980s. In contrast to the composite paradigm, where layers of materials are glued and 'cooked' together under high temperature to form laminated parts, FGM are singular materials that vary their consistency gradually over their volume. As their use is becoming increasingly prevalent in fields adjacent to architecture, the lecture will discuss the fundamental changes in design methodology that their eventual application in architecture will incur, the current problems of working with digital and physical gradation, as well as the cognitive operations taking place when designing with FGM.
Kostas Grigoriadis has been a Diploma Unit Master at the AA since 2011 and an External Examiner in Architecture at the University of East London since August 2015. He has previously worked for Foster + Partners in London and held a visiting lectureship at the Royal College of Art where he also completed a PhD in Architecture by Project in July 2017 that focused on multi-material design methodologies. He has edited the book ‘Mixed Matters: A Multi-Material Design Compendium’, published in June 2016 by Jovis Verlag.