traditional materials
Time-tested building components
Traditional materials are the substances historically used in a craft, art form, or construction method before modern alternatives emerged.
In painting, traditional materials include oil paints, canvas, and natural pigments; in building, they include stone, timber, and thatch.
The phrase often carries connotations of authenticity or craftsmanship: The sculptor works exclusively in traditional materials.
What counts as traditional depends on the field and region.
- gold leafUltra-thin decorative metal
- brickFired clay building unit
- woodTree-derived building material
- ivoryTusk-derived material
- stoneSolid earth fragment
jade · terracotta · adobe · clay · lime wash · hemp · leather · pigments · hand-blown glass · plaster · thatched roof · rattan · amber · natural stone · bamboo · lacquer · rice paper · wrought iron
- British buildingsterraced house, semi-detached, detached house, Victorian house, Georgian house
- historic American homesplantation house, farmhouse, mansion, manor house, Cape Cod house
traditional materialssynthetic materials
Human-manufactured, non-natural substances
plastics · polymers · synthetic fibers · composites · synthetic fabrics
traditional materialsmodern materials
Recently developed physical substances
new materials · smart materials · nanomaterials · metamaterials · graphene
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