There is no more primordial material than earth — clay or mud. It surrounds us everywhere. It is ubiquitous and there is not shortage of it. Earth, mud and other earth-based material systems have been employed for millennia in construction and architecture. Through the use of algorithm aided design, Computational Clay Facades aims to unlock the aesthetic and architectonic potential for clay-based construction. Computational Clay Protostructures, which comprises the facade systems, explores new material and tectonic expressions through the use of ceramic additive manufacturing in architecture. The project showcases the rethinking of design and fabrication processes surrounding clay and its implementation as an ornamental component. Aspects of craftsmanship relating to working with clay, such as controlling and calibrating its complex material properties as well as behaviour in accordance to complex curvature, were combined with computational design logic and robotic fabrication. Informing new material expressions of clay through 3D printing opens up the disciplinary conversation on the role of the ornament(al) after the Digital Turn as well as the notion of digital craft.

Four 3D printed facade cladding systems explore the use of additive manufacturing with clay and its resulting ornamental quality. The deployed parametric design strategies are informed by the Turing pattern occurring in nature, textile folding behaviour and the computational translation of knitting patterns.

Within the larger framework of computational design, robotic fabrication and the concept of digital craftsmanship, the project aims to advance the capabilities of clay as an architectural expressive material by combining complex geometries, computational textures and colour.

Postgraduate Graduation Studio ‘The Wunderkammer’
Eindhoven University of Technology

Computational Tutors: Cristina Nan & Mattia Zucco

Students: Ruben Deckers, Petar Dobrev, Floris Havermans, Harm Herkens, Christian Heusschen, Kevin van Laanen, Don Marsman, Nicky Meenderink, Axel van Nieuwehoven, Jasper Veens