Ceramic
Morphologies explores the design opportunities of a novel ceramic 3d printing
strategy. The project was developed by researchers and students from the
Material Processes and Systems (MaP+S) Group at the Harvard University Graduate
School of Design. Supplemented with
production and material research by the Instituto de Tecnología Cerámica in Castellón, Spain, the project is a prototype for the additive manufacturing of
ceramic building components at the industrial scale.
The
pavilion is meant to showcase the expressive potential of ceramic 3d
printing, and test the adaptation of
principles of thermodynamic heat transfer to 3d printed geometry. The shape and
design are products of current research related to the thermal performance of
naturally ventilated spaces – the result of our collaboration with our
colleagues Salman Craig and Matan Mayer from the Harvard Center for Green
Buildings and Cities. While the exterior surface of the pavilion is smooth and
uniform, the interior surface is heavily contoured and 3d textured. In addition to creating a unique relationship
between interior and exterior space, the geometry of this undulating surface
relates to research on the optimal dimensions for thermodynamic heat
transfer.
The thermal agenda is embedded in the logic of both the pavilion’s
interior surface geometry and the configuration of its overall form. Its pyramidal shape facilitates upward air
movement, and the interior geometry impacts the thermal exchange between
ambient air and the interior mass/surface. The contoured, sinusoidal texture of
the interior surface is designed to optimize the ratio of surface area to
thermal mass, and maximize the potential for cooling through natural
ventilation and buoyancy effects. The project
team has created mathematical models to predict the thermal behavior of the
system.
The
project utilizes a proprietary clay extrusion system and 3-axis armature to
produce each of the pavilion’s 552 unique ceramic elements. Each element is
sized according to its position within the structure, the dimensional constraints
of the printing bed, and a maximum allowable toolpath length. The team
developed a novel computational approach to generate the surface geometry of
the pavilion, discretize the form into individual bricks, and accommodate for
the structural metal frame. Toolpath
geometry and machine code is also generated directly within the parametric
model. The digital workflow enabled the
research team to account for shrinkage during the drying and firing process,
reduce overall printing time and material consumption, and tune the stability
of individual bricks.
Measuring 3 m
tall, with a footprint of 3.2m x 3.6m, the pavilion consists of 552 unique
elements ranging from 260-545mm in length, and 70-150mm in height. 184 elements, representing 1/3 of the entire
structure, are displayed in the current configuration. Gaps between pieces
allow for tolerances in the production. The modules can be bonded with
mortar for permanent installations or, for temporary applications such as
Cevisama2017, can be dry-stacked and secured to a support frame. In total, the 184 printed elements displayed required
358 hours of printing time, and include 19.84km (12.33 miles) of extruded clay
bead.
Under
the motto “Inter-Actions”, the exhibition showcases, in a transgressive and
innovative fashion, advanced uses of ceramics beyond mere coverings.
Trans/Hitos 2017: “Inter-Actions” expresses the reciprocal relationships and
evolution of our interaction with ceramics, which at present, driven by the
striking innovations generated by R&D&I, make ceramics a key material
in today’s and tomorrow’s living environment.
Project
Team: Professor
Martin Bechthold, Director; Salmaan Craig, Lecturer in Environmental
Technology; Nono Martínez Alonso; Jose Luis Garcia Del Castillo; Tiffany Cheng;
Kevin Hinz; Namju Lee, Zhiwei Liao; Matan Mayer; Saurabh Mhatre; Zach Seibold,
Santiago Serna González; Juan Pablo Ugarte
Sponsors:
ASCER Tile of Spain, Cevisama
Coordinator:
ITC: Javier Mira
Ceramic
Production: Instituto de Tecnología
Cerámica: Pilar Gómez Tena, Carmen Segarra Ferrando, Aroa Garcia Cobos
Installation: Grupo on Market
Documentation:
Fernando García
del Castillo López