Jay- Overall the building material should have a sense of practicality, openness, yet permanence. (I.E., material that can stand the test of time such as adobe, but something a bit more efficient than adobe. Reused and/or re-purposed material would be great also. Question, what are the galleries and structures in Europe, or the Taj Mahal made of?). Durability is key. The design of the building will, ideally, have the same characteristics as the ideology of the programming.
Omar- Adobe AKA brick looks amazing when combined with steel structure, concrete, and greenery. If durability is what we want, concrete is the way to go. It is no coincidence you liked house of trees the most since that project utilizes all the materials I mentioned. The Taj Mahal is made out of marble and most of the galleries in Europe are made of concrete or stone.
