For Immediate Release: January 9, 2006
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Liquid Stone Exhibition: News Release
Lecture and Publication Mark Close of Liquid Stone: New Architecture in Concrete
WASHINGTON, DC—Time to visit the National Building Museum’s popular exhibition Liquid Stone: New Architecture in Concrete is running out. The exhibition will close on January 29, 2006 after being on view for more than a year and a half. A virtual version of the exhibition will still be available on the Museum’s website, and a concluding program with translucent concrete inventor Áron Losonczi on January 24, 2006 will help mark the exhibition closing. In addition, a book titled Liquid Stone: New Architecture in Concrete, based on theexhibition, will be released by Princeton Architectural Press in February.
During its run, Liquid Stone attracted more than 110,000 visitors, as well as substantial attention in the popular and professional media. Featuring beautiful, innovative works of architecture from around the world along with cutting-edge products such as translucent concrete and Ductal©, an ultra-high-performance concrete with remarkable properties, the exhibition sheds new light on a common building material that is all too easily taken for granted.
Liquid Stone: New Architecture in Concrete is sponsored exclusively by Lafarge, the world leader in building materials.
Áron Losonczi, Inventor of LiTraCon, to Lecture on January 24
As a final event before the closing of Liquid Stone: New Architecture in Concrete, Hungarian architect and inventor of LiTraCon Áron Losonczi will speak on Tuesday, January 24, 2006, from 7:00 to 8:30 pm. LiTraCon—hailed as one of “the most amazing inventions of 2004” by Time Magazine—is a revolutionary product incorporating fiber-optics, allowing slivers of light to pass through solid concrete. A wall of LiTraCon blocks is the last element in the exhibition Liquid Stone. Losonczi will discuss the product’s genesis, development, and use in several experimental architectural installations, including the Europe Gate, which celebrated Hungary’s entry into the European Union. Losonczi’s lecture will be preceded by a reception, from 6:00 to 7:00 pm, hosted by the Hungarian Embassy.
Princeton Architectural Press Publishes Book Based on Exhibition
A book titled Liquid Stone: New Architecture in Concrete, based on theexhibition and a related symposium held in October 2004 at Princeton University, will be released by Princeton Architectural Press in February. The volume was co-edited by G. Martin Moeller, Jr., senior vice president of the National Building Museum and curator of the exhibition Liquid Stone, and Jean-Louis Cohen, the Sheldon H. Solow Professor in the History of Architecture at the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. Featuring more than 500 illustrations and 248 pages, the book will be published in both English and French versions. All of the contemporary projects and most of the innovative products presented in the exhibition are included in the book, which takes stock of what seems to be a moment of unprecedented creativity in the use of this ancient building material.
The book begins with a series of essays by prominent academics and practitioners exploring the complex history of concrete. Antoine Picon, professor of the history of architecture and technology at Harvard University, writes about the genealogy of concrete within the broader context of technological history. Co-editor Jean-Louis Cohen explores how differences in French and German national building cultures influenced European concrete design and construction. Adrian Forty, professor of architectural history at the Bartlett School of Architecture in London, makes the case that concrete should be considered a process rather than a specific material, using examples from post-World War II Italy. Réjean Legault, architectural historian and professor at the École de design at the Université du Québec, Montréal, traces contemporary developments in North America, which reshaped the visible face of concrete.
A second set of essays expands upon the themes developed in the National Building Museum’s exhibition Liquid Stone. Structural engineer and Princeton University professor Guy Nordenson examines concrete construction as a kind of theatrical endeavor. New York architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, who designed the Liquid Stone installation, reflect on the vast spectrum of possible concrete surfaces and finishes. Exhibition curator Martin Moeller discusses the surprisingly moralistic arguments that have been invoked in the debate about concrete’s proper form. Finally, Franz-Josef Ulm, professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reveals amazing new directions in scientific investigation that will undoubtedly shape future design and building in concrete.
Lafarge North America is the U.S. and Canada’s largest diversified supplier of construction materials such as cement, ready-mixed concrete, aggregates, asphalt and gypsum wallboard. The company’s materials are used in residential, commercial, institutional and public works construction projects across the U.S. and Canada. In 2004, net sales exceeded $3.7 billion. Lafarge North America’s majority shareholder is Lafarge. The Lafarge Group is the world leader in building materials, with 77,000 employees in 75 countries. It holds top-ranking positions in all four of its divisions: Cement, Aggregates and Concrete, Roofing and Gypsum. In 2004, the Lafarge Group posted sales of 14.4 billion euros.
The National Building Museum is America’s leading cultural institution dedicated to advancing the quality of the built environment by educating people about its impact on their lives. Through its exhibitions, educational programs, online content, and publications, the Museum has become a vital forum for the exchange of ideas and information about the world we build for ourselves. Public inquiries: 202.272.2448 or visit www.nbm.org. Connect with us on Twitter: @BuildingMuseum and Facebook.
