Fragments and Refinements provides a window into the work of designers who embrace the material reality of architecture. They do not see this primarily as a technical and economic reality driven by stock details and off-the-shelf fittings. Instead it is a qualitative reality. Materials offer an entry point into a world of mystery and adventure. These designers seek to master a vast, largely untapped realm of human experience that can be orchestrated only through the activation of exotic qualities that lie dormant in architectural materials. Such mastery requires that designers treat materials as a creative starting point and constant beacon.