The Archeology of Section

Solidity is a material condition of the past. Stereotomy, the art and science of subtraction and removal of mass into particular shapes, typically involved materials such as stone or wood. Stereotomic cuts would then be assembled into complex structures, such as vaults, arches, and domes. In our present-day standard of construction, nothing is really solid. The modern obfuscation of solid form together with processes of material industrialization and the convenience of lightweight structures for distribution, shipping, assembly, and construction has pushed architecture to become ever lighter, hollowed, and superficial. The material age of the tectonic and the composite is true everywhere in our present-day standards of construction—except in the quarry. Stone as a solid material is heavy and durable—a “massive” material. It is the quarry’s solidity and the mono-material culture of stone cutting and extraction that fuel our endless appetite for stone cladding and the status it confers to buildings. At the center of this extractive model lies stone cutting, mostly done through modern machinery and giant sharp blades that section rock into stone. “The section is, by its very essence, associated in architecture with verticality… they determine in the most immediately visible way the relationship between forms and forces.” The archaeology of section is pursued through texture extracted from the quarry, texture tests, and site study—re-engaging section as a primary tool linking force, form, and material history.