RIBA North: CERAMICA
​This exhibition explores how traditional ceramic techniques and digital engineering processes can be used together to produce meaningful and sustainable architectural elements.
28 October 2017 to 10 February 2018
RIBA North, 21 Mann Island, Liverpool Waterfront, L3 1BP
​0151 7030107 ​ | ​ribanorth@riba.org ​
Free
It is widely recognised that our species is defined by the decoration of objects and spaces and the development of complex technologies.
Our combined dexterity, creativity and ability to cooperate has enabled us to manipulate our environment and connect with each other on a global scale.
Pre-industrial making techniques and the proliferation of technology are often seen as opposing forces, one favouring the local – the development of vernacular language and context; the other favouring global processes – optimisation and standardisation.
A selection of national and international ceramicists were asked to further develop optimised buildingscreens, created using digital environmental and fabrication technology.
Through their input, the resulting ceramic ceilings and walls host individual vernacular languages, support heritage and local identity, and transform the preliminary engineered product into a more socially, ethically and environmentally sustainable building component.
The exhibition features full-scale prototypes of light-diffusing facades and ceilings, accompanied by a film explaining the experimental design methodologies explored through the ECAlab. The exhibition will be supported by the Moulding Futures Symposium, to discuss prospective scenarios for ceramics within architecture.
ECAlab (Environmental Ceramics for Architecture Laboratory) explores the possibilities of ceramics for sustainable technologies, while examining the role of emerging digital technologies alongside traditional ceramic craftsmanship skills.
It brings together a number of academic institutions with leading professionals, designers, engineers, architects and ceramicists to realise projects with an environmentally sustainable focus.
Ultimately its aim is to develop new applications for ceramics within an architectural context and introduce emerging designers with new ways of thinking about this material.