In the early 1990s, the use of digital technologies in architecture became popular, and some warned of the risks of the excessive virtualization of architecture and the emergence of a ‘cyberspace’ detached from materiality, construction, mass or gravity. Ubiquitous digital images rendering intangible spaces questioned the material character of architecture, a phenomenon that John Frazer[1] <applewebdata://1D121F22-552B-4105-959E-1B34505666E9#_ftn1> called a ‘new architecture of process that transcends physicality and achieves ephemeralization’. In 1998, William Mitchell[2] <applewebdata://1D121F22-552B-4105-959E-1B34505666E9#_ftn2> proposed the concept of anti-tectonics to describe the new digital era characterized by the dematerialization of architecture; with that, he not only gave a name to the manifesto of virtuality, but he also became the delight of the soothsayers who saw their predictions confirmed.

The current decade shows a different spirit. The fascination with the digital visual exuberance that characterized the beginning of the millennium has given way to a re-evaluation of the material and construction. The spread of Computer Numeric Control machines in architecture schools and firms is the most obvious symptom of the growing interest in the impact that digital technologies have on the material production of architecture. Digital technologies have acquired a physicality that does not dispute, but empowers, the material tradition of architecture. Digital manufacturing, robotic systems, simulation technologies, and the internet of things (IoT) intertwine the digital and the material to a point where efforts to distinguish them have become meaningless.

This issue of Materia Arquitectura journal questions the traditional separation between the digital and the material as opposing domains, and, conversely, it invites reflection on digital technologies as enablers, or catalysts, of the physical. It investigates the disruption or evolution of ideas, concepts, methods, processes and techniques that contemporary ubiquitous computing poses to constructive methods, and, incidentally, opens the question about the coming impacts.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: To publish in MATERIA ARQUITECTURA, authors should submit their works electronically to: materia.arquitectura at uss.cl or to our postal address: sede Bellavista, Bellavista 7, Recoleta, Santiago de Chile.

MATERIA ARQUITECTURA will only publish original and unpublished works. Texts and pictures will be the exclusive responsibility of the signing authors. Submitted manuscripts will be assessed by the Editorial Committee and by peer reviewers. Once the submitted material has been accepted, MATERIA ARQUITECTURA will contact the authors to give them specific instructions about the publication process. The sections open for collaborations are:

THEMATIC DOSSIER: Essays, research, articles. It has a thematic character (see I. Call for Papers) and it will publish essays and theoretical works which are the result of researches or specific works. Authors whose work have been selected by the Editorial Committee should consider and/or attach the following:

  • Manuscript: maximum length 2,500 words.
  • Abstract: maximum length 100 words.
  • Five keywords.
  • Citations, notes, references and bibliography must follow the rules of APA Style.
  • Author´s biodata, 100 words maximum.
  • Pictures, photographs (formats: TIFF, JPG, EPS. Resolution: 300 DPI).
  • All submitted pictures must include: photo captions, data, source and authorization to be published.
  • Plans (format: DWG).

ARCHITECTURE AND CRITICISM: Critical review of architectural works and projects.

  • Text: maximum length 1,000 words.
  • Technical data.
  • Architectural drawings (DWG), photographs and renders (300 DPI)

GRAPHIC REPORT: Visual exploration related to Dossier's central theme.

  • Introductory text: maximum length 400 words.
  • 8 to 20 images (300 DPI)

The complete CALL FOR PAPERS for MATERIA ARQUITECTURA journal can be downloaded from the website: http://www.arquitecturauss.cl/revista/convocatoria/ 
And from the link: http://www.arquitecturauss.cl/revista/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/16_Materia_Arquitectura_13_Convocatoria_Call_For_Papers.pdf