Materials
Material detail is the scale at which individuals interact with architecture, where appreciation for the craft of its cultural production is transmitted, and where the totality of an architectural image and artistic experience comes together. At Machado Silvetti we are proud to be recognized as industry leaders in the innovative use of material and fabrications processes like the laminated and water-jet cut stone at New York University, the geometrically complex ceramic facade of the Ringling Museum, and the jumbo curved insulated glazing units at the Denver Art Museum. Our work in materials is more than just technical innovation, it is about a profound connection to place through material selection and design that are sensitive to their surroundings and achievable on a budget, while projecting the goals and ambitions of contemporary architecture.
"Working with materials is like being a composer, each one has a unique voice and when brought together in harmony, they create a symphony of space and form.”
- Jorge Silvetti
Stories:
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![Getty Villa Grounds]()
Getty Villa Grounds
Our approach was to work as much as possible to maintain the architectural integrity of each piece, to make it better, and to produce a new architecture of strong identity, but which was also in the spirit of the place. Images of descent, excavation, multiplicity of ground planes, exploration and discovery served as the baseline of our intervention. The infrastructural framework became the frame for the Villa and its collection.
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Ringling Museum
The specific design of the facade is a conscientious effort to relate the building to the physical and cultural context of the museum's site, history and contents. In particular we studied the Jade Collection of the Ringling, the history of terra-cotta in Asian architecture, and the intense colors of the Estate’s lush gardens. A combination of these characteristics was employed in the concept of a panelized, terra-cotta, tiling system, rendered in striking green.
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![Denver Art Museum Glass]()
Denver Art Museum Glass
The event space is a single elliptical volume that cantilevers above the ground. Its glass façade provides extensive views around the cultural center. Made with curved glass panels, the façade creates an elegant surface ripple as its appearance responds to the curvature of the elliptical plan, the environment and the viewer’s own movement around the building.
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NYU Global Center Facade
The Center for Academic and Spiritual Life at New York University brings together students and scholars from a wide variety of religious backgrounds into one multi-faith and multi-function building on the NYU campus. The design strives to provide a strong expression of the spiritual mission of the building without relying on a singular religious iconography. We proposed that the Tree of Life, an image which is shared by all major faiths, be the inspiration for the façade.
