When in the late summer of 2012 we decided on the title for this current issue, we already knew that the title we chose, a play on words with the analogous translation of the German phrase – „a weakness for materiality“ –, which we transformed into „weak materiality“, would require an issue covering a wider ground than „just“ the topic of materiality. This also prevented a reiteration of the same „classical“ discourse on materiality, which could be seen, for example, in the issue „Magie der Werkstoffe“ of the magazine Daidalos (June 1995), and which has shaped especially the Swiss-German architecture over the last three decades.

While Switzerland explored material and its consistency, the worldwide discourse turned towards the immaterial realm. The discovery of the cyberspace as a virtual space made of bits sparked the collective imagination. However, the ­architect’s longing for tangibility remained also in times of digital body- and weightlessness. The intent to materialise virtual visions was the driving force behind the progress and led, over the years, to a shift of focus from space to mater­ial. Hence today, the new field of digital fabrication transforms the weak and vague materiality of the digital world into a novel, strong and physical materiality.

Looking for references for these new production methods, the evaluation of real phenomena brings hidden strengths of the seemingly weak to light. For example, when the hardening of folds of a cloth, be it through congelation or concreting, leads to an optimisation of the bearing structure. While in the past, weak material could only be explored through experimentation – Heinz Isler has to be mentioned as a protagonist in this respect – digital tools for analysis and production now ­enable engineers and architects to discover unanticipated strengths, which are starting to change our aesthetic sense of right and wrong.

Nevertheless, this issue also aims to question technological progress and contrasts digital manufacturing with traditional crafts and trades. The purpose is less to discuss the pros and cons of each and more to provide the ground for a mutually beneficial exchange. Michael Hansmeyer’s sandstone 3-D prints that are worked on under the supervision of a church conservator show, how in a post-digital era different disciplines and movements come together to form new cooperations. In order for this to succeed, knowledge passed down through generations has to be protected and preserved, skills in handling and processing materials, attained through observation or oral exchange, have to be fostered and maintained. This is of special importance for the emerging and thriving countries of Asia, where the speed of industrialisation fuels a cultural change that puts weak knowledge under pressure.

As in life, the truly weak has to struggle in the editorial as well and is thus mentioned last. But in how far does the weak have to gain strength, has to steel itself to find its way into architecture? A very personal answer to that might be offered by artist Heidi Bucher’s skin rooms, an entertaining one by the introduction of the bouncy castle into the canon of architecture.
The editors

Architektur aktuell
10 Tanz in den Strassen. Brasil Arquitetura: Praça das Artes in São Paulo | Steffen Hägele
16 In guter Nachbarschaft. Cukrowicz Nachbaur Architekten: vorarlberg museum in Bregenz | Ansgar Staudt

Vormoderne Nachmoderne 19th Century
22 1813/1913/2013. Florian Illies im Gespräch mit Hannes Mayer
26 Nationalismus und Stildebatten in der Architektur. Europäische Architektur im Dienst der Bildung nationaler Identität von 1750 bis 1890 | Barry Bergdoll
34 Hybride Artenvielfalt. Zur Architekten- und Ingenieurausbildung im 19. und 21. Jahrhundert. Eine Skizze | Ulrich Pfammatter
40 Kontinuität einer Kommunikationsidee. Deutsche Fachzeitschriften der Architektur seit 1789 | Eva Maria Froschauer
46 Ein Jahrhundert mit Open End. Zur Dialektik von Lebensreform und Ästhetik um 1900 | Joachim Radkau
52 Organicism Revisited. The desire for the animation of inanimate matter in the 19th century | Caroline van Eck
58 Back to the Future. The Rewriting of History in Architecture | Oliver Domeisen
66 In welchem Style sollen wir bauen? Aspekte des Historismus | Hubertus Adam
70 Stilkonstruktionen. Heinrich Hübsch oder eine Frage des Stils | Florian Dreher
76 Vor der Moderne. Gedanken über den Nährboden der Moderne
im ausgehenden 19. Jahrhundert | John V. Maciuika
80 Dekadenz der Verfeinerung. Ästhetizismus oder sozialer Verfall | Florian Dreher
84 Bürgerlichkeit als kulturelles System | Manfred Hettling
90 Öffnung und Repräsentation. Die Landschaftsgärtner und Pflanzenhändler Froebel als Pioniere der Gartenkultur | Claudia Moll
96 Peter und die Holzfäller. Das Gute der Architektur | Hannes Mayer

Rubriken
101 Sammlung Vormoderne Nachmoderne
104 Forschen und Studieren. Troja X – Neustart der modernen Stadt | Peter Karl Becher
112 Neues aus der Industrie
118 Lieferbare Hefte
120 Vorschau und Impressum