COLOUR & MATERIALS

PUBLISHED: 4 SEP 2018

BY: Chloe Frost

An appreciation of natural qualities and hand-formed processes is triggering a

resurgence of interest in ceramic – one of the oldest man-made materials derived
from the earth. Creatives are revitalising the material through experimental
applications, digital methods and resourceful sustainability initiatives. We uncover
the latest ceramic trends, spanning homeware, surface design and architecture.

SUMMARY

CERAMIC RESURGENCE A renewed interest in hands-on EXPERIMENTAL PRODUCTION A wave of experimental

and old-age crafts is leading a ceramic revival. Designers
and craftspeople are embracing clay as a medium in their
work, resulting in exciting material applications and
refreshing hand-formed products.
REPURPOSING WASTE STREAMS Pioneers in the
ceramic industry are repurposing waste into innovative
ceramic products. Ceramic industry leftovers destined for
landfill are transformed into new surface materials and
furniture, while alternatives such as human waste provide
unusual glazes.
production methods are emerging to disrupt the industrial
ceramic industry’s perfect, mass-produced aesthetic.
Extrusion, unique moulds and vibrations are used to
produce unexpected and uncontrolled outcomes.
PIONEERING DIGITAL CRAFT 3D printing and digital
fabrication techniques are improving, opening up new
opportunities for ceramic production, and triggering a
surge of refined creations that blend craft and technology.

AT A GLANCE 

Relevant Industries Trend Duration

Architecture/Design
Construction/Property Now 2 yrs 5 yrs 10 yrs 20 yrs

Education/Non-Profit Organisations Innovation Platforms

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 Home/Interiors
Technology/Electronics

Repurposing Waste Streams

As sustainability agendas begin to infiltrate all industries, companies and designers are discovering waste
streams are an abundant resource for the creation of new ceramic composites and products.
Sustainable Strategies: US manufacturer Kohler, best known for its kitchen and bathroom plumbing
products, has set up an in-house sustainability initiative called Waste Lab. It aims to transform its industrial
waste, otherwise destined for landfill, into high-end tile collections. The initiative focuses on four main
ingredients: pottery dry cull, spent foundry sand, waste glaze and enamel powder, and foundry dust. Dust
forms the basis for the clay tile bodies, while enamel powder is being used for new glazes and colour
effects.
New Material Start-Ups: Dutch start-up StoneCycling transforms industrial waste from the ceramic, glass
and insulation industries into sustainable building materials. Its WasteBasedBricks are offered in various
colours and textures for a range of architectural projects.

Silicastone by UK brand Alusid is a slab material made from recycled porcelain and glass waste, suitable
for several interior and exterior applications. Waste material is ground down and combined with waste glaze
to bind it together, before being sintered into large panels. Read more about it here.

Kohler Waste Lab StoneCycling

Alusid Silicastone StoneCycling

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 Ceramic Industry Waste: Chinese studio Bentu Design explores ways of tackling excessive waste from
China’s colossal ceramic industry. Leftover tiles are crushed and combined with concrete to create a
collection of terrazzo furniture and lighting. Meanwhile, porcelain fragments from waste objects such as
cups and saucers are used as an aggregate in its Wreck concrete furniture collection.

Discarded fragments from the ceramic tableware industry – caused by breakages and production errors –
are repurposed by RCA graduate Hyun-Jin Son into haphazard but functional ceramic objects such as
vases and cups.

Spanish design firm Ted’A used old terracotta tiles to create terrazzo details in an interior renovation
project in Barcelona. The tiles were crushed and used as aggregate in white tile grout, creating a lattice
pattern of terracotta terrazzo on the tiled walls and floors.

Bentu Design Bentu Design

Bentu Design Bentu Design Hyun-Jin Son

Alternative Glazes: Dutch designer Agne Kucerenkaite uses industrial metal waste from water treatment
plants and soil remediation companies to produce experimental colour glazes for her porcelain tableware
and interior wall tiles.

London-based designer Sinae Kim has developed a sustainable glaze for decorative ceramics using urine,
commonly considered a waste product. Urine was collected from five people over five months and distilled
through evaporation to create the glaze.

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 Ted'A Ted'A Agne Kucerenkaite

Sinae Kim Agne Kucerenkaite

Experimental Production Methods

New creative production methods that disrupt ceramic making are emerging, resulting in unexpected, expressive
and uncontrolled outcomes which provide a welcome contrast to the perfect aesthetic of mass production.
Compressed Colour: Numerous designers are creating modern interpretations of agateware, a
decorative marbled effect produced using different coloured clays. British architecture collective Assemble
collaborated with artist Matthew Raw on the refurbishment of a London Underground station. Coloured
earthenware clay was mixed, rolled and spliced by hand to make the decorative tiles that clad the building.

Granby Workshop, a Liverpool-based social enterprise set up by Assemble, produces tiles and tableware
by squashing different coloured clays together. See its collection of unique plates and cups called
Splatware, and The Factory Floor installation, which features thousands of handmade ceramic floor tiles.
British ceramist Sam Andrew uses a similar technique to create delicately striped cups and plates.

Assemble Assemble

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 Granby Workshop Granby Workshop

Granby Workshop Sam Andrew Sam Andrew

Dip Casting: Italian designer Francesco Feltrin has developed a new method for casting ceramics that
involves dipping a mould in slip, rather than slip being cast inside. The process allows for a more hands-on
approach; ceramic slip can be layered, poured randomly and dipped in at angles to create an infinite
number of multicoloured effects.
Fabric Moulding: Chinese designer Zhekai Zhang explores how to incorporate a handcrafted aesthetic
into standardised production techniques with his collection of fabric-textured ceramics. The designer lines
moulds with pieces of textile before casting – making teapots, jugs and cups appear crumpled. The
unpredictability of the fabric folds means each ceramic piece is unique.
Rudimentary Extruding: Set up in a temporary factory workshop as part of a Brooklyn-based
architectural installation, Assemble used an industrial clay extruder – which pushes clay through metal
holes – to create a range of experimental products, including homeware and tiles. After being refined, the
tiles were then used as cladding for the factory building.

US-based artist Anton Alvarez uses a self-constructed ceramic press that extrudes colourful clay to create
abstract forms and vases that appear to melt and collapse.

Francesco Feltrin Francesco Feltrin

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 Zhekai Zhang Zhekai Zhang Zhekai Zhang

Assemble Assemble

Anton Alvarez Anton Alvarez Anton Alvarez

Formed by Force: Chinese designer Shiyuan Hu uses gravitational force to form ceramic tableware. A wet
sheet of porcelain is placed on a mould and then dropped, creating unique products with gently rippled
lips. The method adds a level of product differentiation to a mass-produced process, while also saving
energy.

RCA graduate Philipp Schenk-Mischke uses a vibrating plate to manipulate his ceramic vases before firing.
The gentle movement causes the malleable clay pieces to slump into distorted forms.

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 Shiyuan Hu Shiyuan Hu

Philipp Schenk-Mischke Philipp Schenk-Mischke Philipp Schenk-Mischke

Ceramic Architecture
Architects and designers are exploiting both the technical and natural qualities of ceramic materials to clad and
decorate building exteriors.
Warmth & Tactility: Silhouette is a mixed-use building designed by Dutch architecture firm MVRDV for a
Moscow-based site. It will feature a red ceramic facade that aims to add a warm, homely quality to the
large-scale complex.

See Earthen Architecture and Red Brick in CMF Industry View: Architecture & Spaces for similar projects.

Innovative Facades: Dutch company UNStudio has designed a Dubai skyscraper that will feature a
300m-high ceramic facade. The fin-shaped, glazed tiles will be angled to provide shade for the interior. The
tiles were chosen as a low-tech and sustainable solution to the highly technical challenge of designing a
tall building in Dubai's desert climate.

See 3D Printing for Architecture for more on innovative facades.

MVRDV Silhouette MVRDV Silhouette UNStudio

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 Pioneering Digital Craft
Innovative digital fabrication methods and 3D printing are opening up fresh opportunities for ceramic production,
which is triggering a surge of new creations that blend craft and tech.
Diversifying Design On-Demand: Californian 3D printing studio Emerging Objects is launching a robotic
ceramic workshop which will provide a facility for anyone to design and create custom ceramic pottery.
Called The Bottery, the studio hopes to make 3D printing technology accessible to a wider audience by
hosting educational workshops.

Online design platform Kwambio – which enables the production of bespoke 3D-printed ceramic objects –
has developed its own 3D printer to improve the potential of 3D-printed ceramic. Launched at CES 2018,
Ceramo One uses binder-jetting 3D printing with ceramic powders to create objects layer by layer,
achieving high precision and speed capabilities which otherwise would not be available.

The Bottery The Bottery Kwambio

Kwambio Kwambio

Ultra-Refined Craft: Dutch designer Olivier van Herpt combines cutting-edge digital fabrication methods
with traditional materials to create intricate ceramic vessels. His latest collection of 3D-printed porcelain
vases are tall with very thin walls. The blue and white vases, inspired by Delftware, have a delicate gradient
pattern that is created organically by the printing process; cobalt pigment is applied to the clay body by
hand before being inserted into the extruder.

Olivier van Herpt Olivier van Herpt

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 New-Age Handcraft
Hands-on, traditional crafts are experiencing a revival. A new wave of craftspeople, designers and artists are
embracing clay as a medium in their work, resulting in refreshing ceramic products and exciting material
applications.
Hand-Formed: Brooklyn homeware brand In Common With has released a collection of hand-formed
earthenware lamps that celebrate a handcrafted aesthetic. Clay is pinched and pressed onto moulds to
create the highly textural, unglazed lampshades. Imperfections and fingerprints are left visible, making
each piece unique.

We uncovered this desire for a handmade, crafted aesthetic in Free-Form Craft, a key theme in our 2018:
Look Ahead.

In Common With In Common With

In Common With Floris Wubben Floris Wubben

Pushing Scale: Often considered a fragile material, designers are experimenting with the size of ceramic
projects, scaling up to create functional furniture pieces. Dutch designer Floris Wubben extrudes clay to
create stools, tables and shelves, while US designer Chris Wolston produces playful terracotta armchairs,
stools and tables by a slow process of hand-building and coiling.

Craft for Mindfulness: Non-profit ceramic exhibition Tactile Minds, part of September’s London Design
Festival, will highlight the therapeutic qualities of working with clay. Twenty-two artists will showcase work
made in response to their individual mental health journeys.

Playful Clay: London-based illustrator John Booth translates his colourful drawings into playful handmade
and painted collage-style vases. US artist Katie Stout uses clay to create humorous and whimsical
figurines, accessories and furniture. Her pieces are hand-built and pinched and decorated in bold colours
and glossy metallics.

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 Floris Wubben Floris Wubben Floris Wubben

Chris Wolston Chris Wolston

John Booth Katie Stout

Technical Applications
Technical ceramic composites are being used to provide bespoke consumer options and innovative material
applications.

Self-Healing: Researchers from Yokohama National University in Japan have developed a self-healing
ceramic material that could be used in aeroplanes. The material would enable an aircraft to repair any
damage by itself while still airborne.

Clay & Wireless Tech: Chilean design studio Documentary Design combines hand-thrown clay with
modern wireless audio technology for its Mapuguaquén Bluetooth speakers. Clay is used for the speaker
body, providing a sturdy vessel to house the internal electronic components, with little natural oscillation in
sound.

Colour Composite: Luxury Swiss watch brand Hautlence uses a ceramic composite named HLLightColor
to case its Vortex Gamma model. Normally used in the automotive and aerospace industries, the extremely
strong and light material can be body tinted in any Pantone colour, opening up major scope for
customisation.

Ceramic Phones: Personal electronics brands are introducing cases made from technical ceramic
material zirconium oxide for their high-end mobile devices. Models in LG’s Signature Edition range are
backed in the hard glossy material, providing a virtually scratchproof case. Chinese brand Xiaomi has
launched its Mi Mix 2S phone in an emerald green ceramic edition, inspired by jade stone.

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 Mapuguaquén Bluetooth speakers Mapuguaquén Bluetooth speakers

Hautlence Vortex Gamma Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S

FUTURE INSIGHTS

INNOVATE WITH WASTE Consider waste as a valuable
resource, and explore how it can be harnessed into new
products and materials. In-house initiatives such as
Kohler’s Waste Lab demonstrate how closed-loop
systems and sustainability agendas can create new
business opportunities.
EXPAND DESIGN ON-DEMAND Digital fabrication
methods, such as 3D printing, offer new opportunities for
custom design. Look at ways to appeal to consumers
wanting unique and personalised products, such as with
on-demand design workshops, colour and material options
or limited-edition product series.
ADD CHARACTER THROUGH IMPERFECTION Mass-
produced aesthetics are falling out of favour with
consumers who are seeking the unique qualities of
handmade and crafted products. Consider using ceramic
material to add tactility, character and earthen qualities to
products and spaces.
ENHANCE WELLBEING WITH CLAY Consider the
wellbeing aspects of crafting with clay. Host in-store
workshops, which allow consumers to meet makers, learn
new skills and craft products themselves. Such
meaningful experiences will help to create better
engagement with your brand.

TOPICS: Architecture & Spaces | Art & Design | Craft | Home & Interiors | Luxury Perspectives | Science &
Technology | Sustainable Futures | Wraparound Wellness

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