The ideal architect is a honest applicant of real materials. However, in contemporary building practice, nothing could be further from the truth. The industry floods us with ''almost real'' materials with ''superior'' properties. The practical client cheers, the nostalgic architect shivers. This development seems unstoppable! Fake is the architects future!
In our recent research we investigate what it means to apply material. The offer of materials is huge, real materials but far more ‘like real’ imitations that are even ‘better than real’! Architects shiver. But why wouldn’t you select a tile with a marble pattern? Or apply a ‘nearly real’ PVC wooden floor? In our research we want to compare materials without presupposing a judgement about them. The main aspects we investigate are their sustainable values and their sensorial experience. Through presenting our research manifesto we want to facilitate a discussion on the impact of materials in architecture and sustainability.