Architecture Rediscovers Mass: Thick Walls and Deep Openings Return
Contemporary architecture is revisiting the concept of mass, moving away from the 20th-century pursuit of lightness. For centuries, buildings were conceived as bodies of mass with thick walls and recessed windows, but steel structures and curtain walls reduced envelopes to thin layers. Recent projects reintroduce thickness through deep openings, monolithic volumes, and heavy envelopes, reconnecting with traditions where space was carved from solid construction. This shift does not reject modern technologies nor nostalgia, but reflects renewed interest in material, mass, and void relationships.
Key facts
- 20th-century architecture pursued lightness via steel structures and curtain walls.
- Historically, buildings had thick walls and recessed windows within masonry.
- Contemporary projects reintroduce thickness through deep openings and monolithic volumes.
- The shift is not a rejection of modern construction technologies.
- It is not a nostalgic return to historical forms.
- It reflects renewed interest in material, mass, and void.
- Buildings reconnect contemporary practice with long-standing traditions.
- Space was traditionally inseparable from weight and depth of construction.
Entities
Institutions
- ArchDaily