ACSA and acc renew ties to promote plastics in schools Following the success of the recently launched Architecture and Plastic (www.acsa-arch.org/plastic) teaching resources website, ACSA is joining forces yet again with the American Chemistry Council (ACC) Plastics Division. ACSA and ACC have formed a Plastic Advisory Committee to promote plastic as a building material in the classroom. The council invited distinguished academics to identify what is lacking in todayâs curriculum and discuss steps in creating educational resources to better inform faculty and students on the availability and performance of plastics in design and construction solutions.
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The following distinguished scholars form the advisory group: Grace La, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Gail Peter Borden, University of Southern California Michael Meredith, Harvard University Franca Trubiano, Georgia Institute of Technology Santiago Perez, University of Houston Richard Dozier, Tuskegee University Tom Wiscombe, SCI-Arc Vera Parlac, University of Calgary Michael Wolcott, Washington State University Billie Faircloth, Kieran Timberlake Associates
Architecture and Plastic (shown on the right), ACSA and ACCâs first collaboration, is part of an on-going initiative by ACSA to create and disseminate case study curriculum materials to architecture faculty and students. The website, developed by Billie Faircloth and sponsored by ACC, investigates two case studies that demonstrate solutions to high-performance design problems faced in todayâs increasingly technology oriented world.
p The Architecture and Plastic website is divided into eight visually engaging and informative teaching resource sections
p The âPlastics Terminologyâ section identifies and defines plastic terminology affiliated with building and construction
The subjects of the case studies are the Kingsdale School, a 1960âs building refurbished by Leslie Martin/de Rijke Marsh Morgan with the addition of the worldâs largest variable skin ETFE roof creating an internal courtyard and auditorium, and the Chameleon House by Anderson Anderson Architects, , a building wrapped in a skirting wall of recycled translucent polyethelene slats. The case studies provide evidence that plastics exhibit unique material attributes, and as such provide the grounds for exploring structural, spatial, formal, aesthetic and innovation in architecture, and that plastics are embedded as part of building systems.
Through these two projects, the site offers additional resources such as identifying and defining plastic terminology affiliated with building and construction, surveying plastic experimentation through past and present allplastic-house proposals, an interview with polymer chemist Tat Tong, and an extensive bibliography. ACSA hopes to build on this effort and create more resources that would be used by faculty and students. Visit acsa-arch.org/plastic.
p An interactive transcript of the interview with polymer chemist Tat Tong examines plasticâs performance
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Each case study is structured to provide the context for thinking with plastic and is organized across five sections; establishing the design problem, identifying the architectsâ design tactics, identifying the plastics found, identifying plastics affiliated with building systems, and assessing plastics performance.