Archinect - News

A 3D printed ceramic facade by Studio RAP in Amsterdam is inspired by weaving textiles

2023-12-04T11:54:00-05:00

Rotterdam-based Studio RAP has transformed a boutique facade in Amsterdam with 3D printed ceramic tiles. The Ceramic House sits along the city’s famous P.C. Hooftstraat shopping street, and according to the firm, “reshapes architectural expression by seamlessly blending tradition and innovation, reintroducing bespoke details to the realm of architecture.”

Image credit: Riccardo De Vecchi

For the project’s design, the firm developed in-house algorithms to reinterpret the existing qualities and language of glazed ceramics in Amsterdam. The resulting facade features intricate layers inspired by textiles, including creases, interloping yarns, and stitch patterns.

Image credit: Riccardo De Vecchi

“Its organic, wave-like quality changes as viewers approach the design from different angles,” the team explains. “Gradually, as the line of vision moves, new elements within the custom ceramic tiles are unveiled, resulting in a luxur...

Heatherwick Studio's new Xi'an shopping district features ceramic paneling as 'sensory experience'

2023-11-20T12:16:00-05:00

Heatherwick Studio has announced their design for a new shopping center in Xi’an, China, they say will evoke the heritage of ceramics and other artistic creations endemic to the area with a completion date set for 2024.

Offering users a “sensory experience to challenge the emotional and aesthetic deprivation of online shopping,” the plan for the 1.23 million-square-foot district calls for a network of social spaces and interlocking program of mixed-scale buildings scattered throughout.

Image: MIR, courtesy of Heatherwick Studio

The design is broken down into three scales, appearing first as a green space with tapering rooflines inspired by surrounding local temples when viewed from a distance. At the street level, it will utilize a series of interlinked terraces and other landscaped spaces to offer enhanced pedestrianism and vistas of the city.

Image: Devisual, courtesy of Heatherwick Studio

The promised “sensory experience” is enacted most at the final human scale, and buildings are...

In Delft, a 3D-printed passage by Studio RAP reinterprets traditional ceramic crafts

2023-07-13T12:15:00-04:00

Rotterdam-based Studio RAP has completed a 3D-printed ceramic walkway in the Dutch city of Delft. Titled 'New Delft Blue,' the project “reinterprets the world-famous decorative qualities and design vocabulary of Delft Blue porcelain,” with a fusion of 3D clay printing, computational design, and artistic glazing.

Image credit: Riccardo De Vecchi

The scheme is located in the communal courtyard of the PoortMeesters residential building block. Within the block, two large arching gates cover a public staircase, drawing reference from Delft’s historical role as a trading city. Studio RAP’s intervention within the arched passage takes its inspiration from traditional Delft Blue porcelain plates, whose vocabulary has changed radically over centuries with influence from Chinese and Japanese designs.

Image credit: Riccardo De Vecchi

“The differentiation between a decorative, nature-inspired frame and idyllic scene, however, has bee...

Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition Celebrates 30 Years of North American Design

2022-12-12T08:00:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Ceramics of Italy

What began as a joint venture between Confindustria Ceramica and the Italian Trade Agency in 1994 to celebrate the work of North American architects and designers using Italian ceramic tile has evolved into a 30-year survey of the built environment and the creative ways in which tile can be used to achieve a designers’ vision. As the longest-running awards program of its kind, the Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition is now open for its 2023 cycle, and will be accepting submissions until December 19, 2022. Confindustria Ceramica and the Italian Trade Agency are thrilled to be celebrating this significant milestone.

Many of the world’s renowned architecture firms and design studios including Gensler, Rockwell Group, Snøhetta, Rottet Studio, and Perkins+Will have been recipients of this award, celebrated for their designs that highlight the technical and aesthetic benefits of Italian tile, using it for everything from flooring for yachts ...

Deadline Approaching! 1 Month to Enter the Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition

2021-01-28T11:51:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Ceramics of Italy with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Trade Agency

The Longest-Running Awards Program of its Kind Includes New Categories for Single-Family and Multi-Family Residential Spaces.

Confindustria Ceramica (the Italian Association of Ceramics) and the Italian Trade Agency are proud to announce the official call for entries for the 2021 Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition. Now in its 28th year, the competition recognizes top North American architecture and design firms and design students for their creative use of Italian ceramic and porcelain tile. Winning projects will exemplify innovative design while demonstrating the superior technical and aesthetic qualities of Italian tile. An international jury of design experts will select winners in four built categories - Residential (Single Family), Residential (Multi-Family), Commercial, and Institutional - as well as a winner in the Stude...

Ceramics of Italy Launches its 2021 Tile Competition

2020-11-23T12:27:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Ceramics of Italy with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Trade Agency

The Longest-Running Awards Program of its Kind Includes New Categories for Single-Family and Multi-Family Residential Spaces.

Ceramics of Italy Extends Tile Competition Deadline to January 31!

2020-01-06T18:03:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition

Now in its 27th year, the Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition is officially accepting entries for 2020.

The Ceramics of Italy 2020 Tile Competition awards top North American architects and designers for their exceptional work and creative use of Italian ceramic or porcelain tile. An international jury of design experts will review submissions from all over the continent and ultimately select winners in four categories – residential, commercial, institutional, and student.

Image © Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition

Winners will receive $2,000 cash, an all-expenses-paid CEU-accredited trip to Bologna, Italy for Cersaie 2020, and the opportunity to present their projects in front of a large audience at Coverings in New Orleans.

The competition is open to all North American architects, interior designers and students. Domestic and international new construction and renovation projects completed between January 2015 and Janu...

Architecture and design firms are called to submit their best projects to the 2020 Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition

2019-11-25T11:45:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition

*Update: Competition deadline has been extended to January 31st.*

Confindustria Ceramica (the Italian Association of Ceramics) and the Italian Trade Agency have just announced the official call for entries for the 2020 Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition!

Now in its 27th year, the competition continues to recognize top North American architecture and design firms and design students for their creative use of Italian ceramic and porcelain tile.

Winning projects will exemplify top-quality design and demonstrate the superior technical and aesthetic qualities of Italian tile. An international jury of design experts will ultimately select winners in four categories: Residential, Commercial, Institutional, and Student. In a new initiative this year, Ceramics of Italy will introduce the People’s Choice Award, which allows the public to vote on the best projects. Projects can be both domestic and international new constructio...

Call for Projects: Sign up now for the 2019 Ceramics of Tile Competition

2018-12-21T15:16:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition.

Each year, the Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition – hosted by Confindustria Ceramica and the Italian Trade Agency – recognizes the outstanding work of North American architects, designers and students who create imaginative spaces using Italian ceramic and porcelain tile. Now in its 26th year, the 2019 Tile Competition is accepting entries in three built categories – residential, commercial and institutional – and one student category.

Architects and designers are invited to submit their projects that utilize Italian ceramic tiles in an aesthetically beautiful, original, and functional way. Past winners include leading industry names such as Gensler, Cooper Carry, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Studio Libeskind, and more.

In the three built categories, projects can be domestic or international but must be designed by North America-based architects and designers, ...

Design Pieces of Portuguese Ceramics and Architecture highlighted at 100% Design

2017-09-18T00:01:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Ceramics, Portugal Does It Better

Design, Innovation and Quality - primal attributes that are the baseline of the international success of Portuguese ceramics. It is from the symbiosis between the art, know-how and innovation, that the history of the Portuguese Ceramic Industry of tomorrow can be written. Ceramics, Portugal Does It Better is an aggregating and unifying concept of an Industry with its own characteristics, nature and identity that will be showcased at 100% Design, London.

APICER’s Ceramics, Portugal Does It Better campaign is ready for the first 2017 official participation in UK's largest trade event for architects and designers, that takes place in London, between 20 – 23 September. This will be a unique opportunity to show at 100% Design the singularity, quality, innovation and heritage of the Portuguese Ceramic Industry with a …. Twist!

Porto Cruise Terminal by Luís Pedro Silva. Credit: TCrL: FG + SG

Architecture and Design will be the...

Call for Projects: Sign up now for the 2016 Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition!

2015-12-01T17:47:00-05:00

Taking place annually for the last 22 years, the Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition is back for 2016! Architects and designers worldwide are invited to submit their projects that utilize Italian ceramic tiles in an aesthetically beautiful, original, and functional way. Do you already have a ceramic tile project you've been eager to showcase? This competition could be your chance! The submission deadline is January 15, 2016.

To qualify for the competition, projects must be designed by North American-based architects and designers, completed in the past five years (January 2011 to January 2016), and feature a significant portion of Italian ceramic or porcelain tile.

Domestic and international projects, renovations and new buildings, and all scales and styles will be equally considered in three categories: residential, commercial and institutional. An international jury of design experts will select three winning projects and honorable mentions in each category.

Winners will be notified ...

Designer Jonathan Adler on "creating modern American glamour and eccentricity"

2015-09-29T08:48:00-04:00

My philosophy is based on: I think everyone deserves a soupçon of glamour in every bit of their home. [...] When people look back on early 21st-century design, they will remember: the chaos produced by the technological revolution, a chaos that can be interpreted as either depressingly meaningless or excitingly free.