13 Nov 2016 - 3D Printed Ceramics

SPECULATIVE DESIGN II

To Imagine Possible Futures

1.    3D PRINTED CERAMICS

The future of Architecture

A fresh perspective to an established craft was created by applying these exponentially evolving conception and fabrication techniques to existing design now a days that do not traditionally involve digital technologies. 

Data Clay: Digital Strategies for Parsing the Earth

Location: San Francisco's Museum of Craft and Design

This exhibition looks at the ways in which leading researchers and practitioners are experimenting at the intersection of digital technology and ceramics.  This range of diverse products and sculptural forms are based on design, art, and architectural sensibilities.

“Curators Del Harrow and Joshua G. Stein explain that these new artisans are drawn to clay's unfamiliarity at a larger scale and its unique material properties that make it more difficult to predict, including slump and shrinkage. While it is not as easy to work with as more stable materials such as concrete, engineered wood, and steel, clay has more potential for experimentation when it comes to translating the digital to the physical.”

As clay has been used very frequently for over 27 thousand years, this research is still under experimental stage and remains accessible to specialists and general public to advance future applications. By using 3D ceramics printing now, it is now being adopted in complex hybrid systems. This pushes ceramics to the forefront of innovations in the future design fields by combining the futuristic of digital era with the traditional craft and skill based knowledge, offering the best of both worlds.  

Opinions

In my opinion, I think that this 3D printing ceramics method will be one of the greatest inventions for the architecture world in the coming years. This could mean that lesser craftsmen or workers are needed in the industry. But on the downside, this could also lead to the descending amount of crafts talent within our society for our future generations. Moreover, this 3D ceramic printing method is very time consuming as it takes a long time to produce a single piece of artwork. Major issues while creating clay artwork have to be solved such as collapsing of objects and sturdiness of the clay to withstand high pressure and temperature while being installed as an element of a building. Although it is precise in producing crafts, the machinery might need a lot of maintenance and it could cost sky high for the company itself to invest in such technology. 

Bibliography

1. Another Rapid-Prototyping Feat: Ceramic Bricks Made With 3D Printers (2017) Architizer. Available at: http://architizer.com/blog/another-rapid-prototyping-feat-ceramic-bricks-made-with-3d-printers/ (Accessed: 11 November 2016).