While agreeing with Quatremère de Quincy on the distinction between idea and model, Gottfried Semper (1803-79) defines ‘type’ as the idea that must be understood through the potentials of four building techniques: terracing (masonry), roofing (carpentry), the hearth (ceramics) and walling (textiles). Gottfried Semper, ‘London Lecture of November 11, 1853’, RES: Journal of Anthropology and Aesthetics, no.6 (Autumn 1983) p.5-31 This materialist approach of Semper displaces the idea of ‘type’ from an idealist position to a practical one.