A fundamental principle of architecture is the interrelationship of materials and construction technique to the architectural imagination. As a result of interplay, interaction, interpretation, and integration, materials give us the opportunity to break away from compartmentalization in the process of structure formation. This shift acknowledges the fact that construction requires a way of thinking: that embodied experience is qualitatively different from abstraction and is a critical component in the evolution of ideas. First-hand knowledge of materials - not only what they look like, but their texture, their heft, their pliability and the ways in which they are joined together - expand a designer’s conceptual range and design intelligence. Actual experience handling materials and meeting the demands of construction techniques gives an understanding that cannot be duplicated in any other format. Materials and construction are fundamental to design and not merely functional' or 'technical' concerns to be worked out later. Materials and construction techniques can be appreciated for their aesthetic contributions, not just their physics. Concrete masonry units (CMUs, or concrete blocks) are one of the finest examples to test the visual-tactile and physical properties of basic building materials and provide a perfect introduction to ideas of essence and materiality. CMUs are one of the most elementary, yet useful, materials that can be used to exploit the endless possibilities of expression through intuitive, rational and innovative integrations of thinking. These essential ideas were explained, understood and applied in an introductory architectural materials and systems class. Student first visited a CMU fabricator to learn about the concrete block’s composition, structure and dynamic processes. They then engaged in a four week in-situ experience which focused on two fundamental and interrelated issues, namely modular units and construction techniques. They created projects which were evaluated based on criteria such as static stability, exploitation of the concrete blocks, and, most importantly, the manipulation of mass, volume and space. As in real-world practice, chance, luck and uncertainty were key components of ‘successful’ project delivery in this phase.