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.
In this exhibition we saw how traditional ceramic techniques and digital engineering processes can be used together to produce more meaningful and sustainable architectural elements. The full-scale ceramic prototypes on display offered a viable alternative to global manufacturing and distribution, combining digital processes to maximise energy efficiency with local materials and manufacturing. The combination of the material sustainability of ceramics, digitally optimized design of components, and the appropriation of vernacular language and embodied cultural identity, transformed the preliminary engineered product into a more socially, ethically and environmentally sustainable building component.
