ACAW 2023, ACAWorkshop, Facade Prototype, Ceramic Assembly, Terra Cotta, Eric Parry Architects, The Architect's Newspaper

The Architect’s Newspaper Reports on ACAW 2023

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Firms develop ceramic prototypes for Boston Valley Terra Cotta’s 2023 ACAW Workshop

SOURCE: The Architect’s Newspaper
AUTHOR: Trevor Schillaci
DATE: 09.06.23

Included in the coverage of the 2023 ACAWorkshop is an article by The Architect’s Newspaper, reported on by program assistant Trevor Shillaci. Media attention such as this on ACAW is invaluable, as it increases awareness of the annual event within the architectural and engineering fields. The ultimate goal of holding the workshop is to encourage collaboration within the industry, and to help professionals develop a greater understanding of using terra cotta for high performance façade design.

Below are excerpts from the article featuring a few of the team prototype contributions:

 

Pickard Chilton + Magnusson Klemencic Associates

This team deviated from the rest, developing a prototype for a terra cotta staircase instead of a facade system. The staircase demonstrated that terra cotta is also viable as a structural material. After studying several different configurations, the team settled on a system where the stair treads rest on a single structural stringer. The anatomical properties of a whale spine served as an inspiration for the design of the staircase.

ACAW 2023 prototype by Team Pickard Chilton. ©Dan Cappellazzo

 

Selldorf Architects + Socotec

The team from Selldorf drew upon their work from previous projects in collaboration with Boston Valley Terra Cotta. In creating their facade prototype, the team worked to reduce the overall weight of the ram-pressed tiles, ultimately achieving a nearly 60 percent reduction. The final product, which features an undulating wave pattern, was the result of extensive modeling to investigate various curvatures expressed as sine waves. Alternations of convex and concave curvatures were the result. The pigment utilized in the glaze was sourced from industrial metals, primarily iron oxides, found in slag-waste from an industrial site.

ACAW 2023 prototype by Team Selldorf Architects. ©Dan Cappellazzo

 

Eric Parry Architects + FMDC Ltd.

Designers from Eric Parry Architects shared the firm’s use of terra cotta for an ongoing project involving Fishmongers’ Hall on the river Thames in London. While the designers initially intended to use stone masonry for the project, it was ultimately too heavy for use. Complying with this year’s biophilic theme, different species of plant, as well as lichen and moss, were tested on a prototype, which will inform the design of the London project. When glazing the terra cotta, the team experimented with a speckled pattern which was counted and modeled to make sure that the specks of color were applied “uniformly” to the structure.

Read the full article here.

ACAW 2023, ACAWorkshop, Facade Prototype, Ceramic Assembly, Terra Cotta, Pickard Chilton

That’s a Wrap! ACAW 2023 Overview

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At the 2023 Architectural Ceramic Assemblies Workshop (ACAW), eight professional teams explored new depths in the flexibility and functionality of terra cotta as a material for façade design. Several themes emerged from this year’s 10-month-long research workshop, which culminated at the August 17th Symposium with team presentations.

Biophilic & Bioclimatic Design

Throughout the year, several teams prototyped their projects to address climate concerns and sustainability. These designs take into consideration the aesthetics of terra cotta combined with vegetation, as well as metrics including embodied carbon, durability, thermal value, light reflection, and fabrication efficiency.

Team Eric Parry prototyped their project for a building adjacent to Fishmonger’s Hall, located on the north bank of the Thames River in London. Their research referenced moss and lichen growing on terra cotta to develop a glaze that was reverse-engineered from a historical Ruskin Pottery technique.

Team Henning Larsen’s aim was to reimagine a façade as organic habitat. A white crackle glaze with directional spray was applied to 12” x 30” standard tiles with variation in height and openings that will encourage moss to grow.

Team RIOS explored the concept of biodiversity and interconnectivity with a habitable modular assembly of TerraClad® rainscreen panels and masonry block. Their traditional green wall was designed to be interactive for occupants using a series of planters, serving both human and pollinating visitors in an interstitial space.

 

ACAW 2023 prototype by Team Eric Parry

 

ACAW 2023 prototype by Team Henning Larsen

 

ACAW 2023 prototype by Team RIOS

Transitional Space

Team CO Architects explored the ambiguity of “inside-out” by designing a 360° terra cotta screen with a single module and multiple variations. CO’s use of glazed and unglazed V-shaped units was derived from studying origami folds, blurring the line between the front and back sides of the terra cotta.

Team Pickard Chilton created a structural terra cotta stairway using an angled stringer with tension rods — gaskets evened out the balance to establish compressive force. The terra cotta stair treads were finished with a glaze and texture application that wrapped around the nose.

 

ACAW 2023 prototype by Team CO Architects

 

ACAW 2023 prototype by Team Pickard Chilton

Structural Design

Team Selldorf Architects focused on the ornamental expression of terra cotta and its textured depth. They succeeded in halving the weight of their rainscreen by reducing the subframe, forming thermal ridges in the terra cotta, and cutting down on material use.

Team HGA created a long format brick that has the form’s modularity, but the finish texture of stone. Due to their design’s hollow structure, its embodied carbon is less than traditional brick and stone. The extruded baguette offered a variety of surfaces to work with: glazed, unglazed, and a broken edge concept.

Team ZGF’s screen prototype centered on building performance and flexibility post-construction. The 2-sided modular system featured glazed RAM-pressed terra cotta units on a vertical rod system for support. The versatile assembly could also serve as an aesthetic piece.

 

ACAW 2023 prototype by Team Selldorf Architects

 

ACAW 2023 prototype by Team HGA

 

ACAW 2023 prototype by Team ZGF

ACAW exists to help architects understand the properties of terra cotta, so they can more effectively design manufacturable and constructable façade solutions. ACAW 2023 provided an opportunity for interdisciplinary teams to explore new themes and discover workable solutions for functional systems.

Stay tuned for future blogs where we will take a more in-depth look into this year’s assemblies.

ACAW 2023, ACAWorkshop, Architectural Record, facade design, facade prototypes, terra cotta facades, architecture firms

Architectural Record Covers the 2023 ACAWorkshop

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The Architectural Ceramic Assemblies Workshop Returns to Probe the Future of Terra Cotta

SOURCE: Architectural Record
AUTHOR: Matthew Marani
DATE: 08.24.23

The 2023 ACAWorkshop took place in Buffalo, NY last month from August 14-17th. Participants and attendees gathered in the Marriott at LECOM Harborcenter for the public Symposium event on Thursday, where each team presented the results of their months-long prototype development. The day was rounded out with a closing keynote speech by Orel Samson, Senior Manager at Allied Properties REIT.

In attendance during ACAW week was Matthew Marani, editor for Architectural Record. Below are excerpted passages from Marani’s article recounting his experience.

The professional teams present at this year’s ACAW were, for the most part, composed of paired-up architects and engineers, and featured familiar faces and new attendees. Notably, the workshop featured six academic teams, a significant expansion from years past, which, according to Carnegie Melon University Head of Architecture and workshop organizer Omar Khan, is a result of growing interest in ceramics within architectural programs, especially in the area of 3D printing.[…] “Maintaining six academic programs every year would be ideal as their work brings a fresh perspective that is a bit more experimental and also provides us with an opportunity to support emerging pedagogies at these institutions,” noted Khan.

The prototypes were conceptually developed in the months leading up to the workshop and featured exciting applications of the material. For example, New Haven, Connecticut–based Pickard Chilton and Seattle’s Magnusson Klemencic Associates drew upon a series of precedents, such as the work of Rafael Guastavino, to develop a terra cotta stairwell supported by a post-tensioned spine, that, in its glazing and finish, resembles something of a mix between a scrimshaw whalebone and cellular structure.

 

Lila Sferlazza, associate at Pickard Chilton, led the team with Magnusson Klemencic Associates to create a feature stair for their assembly. ©Dan Cappellazzo

 

Or take the rainscreen designed by Selldorf Architects and façade consultant Socotec, that, using parabolic strengthening and other measures, saw an approximately 60 percent reduction in typical panel weight. The prototype also experimented with the use of industrial waste such as slag as a recycled material for both terra cotta and glazing.

ZGF Architects’ New York office, in collaboration with LERA Consulting Structural Engineers, worked on a modular system, suitable for rainscreen or sunshade use, or even as a decorative display, of glazed and ribbed uniform terra cotta units mounted on a rod system that is configurable at a full 360 degrees.

Los Angeles-based CO Architects held an internal design competition for their prototype, and ultimately looked towards origami’s multifaceted folds as inspiration. The result is a system of glazed and plain surfaces suspended over vertically oriented tension rods.

HGA worked with Denver-based facade engineering firm Studio NYL to design a rainscreen system of terra cotta planks, that, in their finish, resemble something of a high-design bush-hammered façade.

 

Stan Su returned to ACAW for a third time to lead the RIOS team’s modular wall concept. ©Dan Cappellazzo

 

Henning Larsen, Thornton Tomasetti, and Innovation Glass teamed up to explore the use of moss on a unitized terra cotta curtain wall system. ©Dan Cappellazzo

 

The prompt for this year’s workshop was biophilic design, and several participating firms incorporated plantings within their prototypes. L.A.-based RIOS, with the support of engineer ARUP, unveiled a hybrid block-and-rainscreen system that can be fitted with a series of planter trays.

The New York office of Danish architecture firm Henning Larsen, in a pairing with engineer Thornton Tomasetti and façade fabricator Innovation Glass, explored a crackle-glazed sunscreen with alluvial grooves capable of supporting moss growth.

And Eric Parry Architects, with collaborating façade engineer FMDC, developed a fish scale-like rain screen of extruded terra cotta finials, as well as high-gloss glazed soffit panels, for an ongoing project in London’s Salisbury Square.

Let’s see what the future has in store for this industrious corner of New York.

 

Orel Samson of Allied Properties REIT and Seldorf Architects’ Anne Lewison discuss ACAW 2023 teams assemblies on display. ©Dan Cappellazzo

Eric Parry – “Architectural Practice is a Collaborative Exercise”

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How a garage, a carpet and living on a bus helped shape Eric Parry

AUTHOR: Pamela Buxton
DATE: July 19, 2023
SOURCE: The RIBA Journal

The RIBA Journal interviews architect Eric Parry on his long-standing career, his priorities, obstacles, and his most treasured possession. Below is an excerpt from the interview:

“Do you think the profession was too slow to grasp the need to design more sustainably? What more needs to be done?”

“Definitely. The industry tends to be reactive – from government to planning policy and only then does everyone step up to the mark. The RIBA has become more proactive. We should be railing against the procurement policy of government and demanding better practice with regard to sustainability. There’s a lack of commitment, and a remarkable short sightedness. The most important thing about sustainability is durability, so we’re nuts to be designing for a 60-year building life.”

Read the full interview here.

Eric Parry is the Opening Keynote Speaker at ACAW 2023, presented annually by Boston Valley Terra Cotta in Buffalo, NY.

Eric Parry Architects together with FMDC Ltd. are one of this year’s Professional Teams presenting their explorations at the ACAW 2023 Symposium on Thursday, August 17th.

Boston Valley Terra Cotta Announces 2023 Architectural Ceramic Assemblies Workshop

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The eighth annual Architectural Ceramic Assemblies Workshop (ACAW) will commence on August 14, 2023, with an opening keynote speech by Eric Parry, RA – Principal & Founder of Eric Parry Architects with studios in London and Singapore.

ACAW is an industry-academic collaborative workshop hosted by Boston Valley Terra Cotta, with Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture and the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning. Its aim is to broaden industry professionals’ knowledge of the performance of terra cotta, encouraging a deeper understanding of manufacturing architectural ceramics that will inform next-generation building designs. Guided by terra cotta manufacturers and ceramicists, teams of architects, façade engineers, educators, and students work together over the course of the workshop to share knowledge and gain experience developing terra cotta wall assemblies.

ACAW 2023 has brought together preeminent members from architecture and engineering firms around the world. The eight professional teams presenting at this year’s Symposium include:

  • Eric Parry Architects + FMDC Ltd.
  • ZGF + LERA
  • Pickard Chilton + Magnusson Klemencic Associates
  • Rios + ARUP
  • HGA + Studio NYL
  • Henning Larsen + Thornton Tomasetti
  • CO Architects
  • Selldorf Architects + Socotec
  • Six student teams are also involved this year.

Visual prototypes – constructed by the teams on-site at Boston Valley – will be presented in-person at the Buffalo Marriott at LECOM HARBORCENTER and via a live virtual feed during the ACAW 2023 Symposium on Thursday, August 17, 2023.

The event will conclude with closing keynote speaker, Orel Samson, Senior Manager, Construction at Allied Properties REIT. Samson will speak about his experience with The Well, an ambitious seven-building “megaproject” near Toronto’s urban core. Boston Valley’s TerraClad® was used on the façade of The Well’s Building E.

The workshop incorporates knowledge about the fabrication and manufacture of architectural terra cotta early in the architect’s design process. This encourages the efficient production of high-performance terra cotta facade solutions. “We are thrilled to once again host the 2023 Architectural Ceramic Assemblies Workshop, bringing together the brightest minds in architecture and design to explore the infinite possibilities of ceramic assemblies,” said John Krouse, CEO at Boston Valley Terra Cotta. “This event serves as a platform to exchange knowledge, foster creativity, and study what is possible in architectural terra cotta.”

Additional in-person speakers include John Krouse – CEO of Boston Valley Terra Cotta and Christine Jetten of Studio Christine Jetten in the Netherlands.

For more information, go to this year’s event page on this site.

A closer look reveals the rich yellow glaze and ridged texture of Pelli Clarke's ceramic seating

ACAW 2022 in the Friends of Terra Cotta Newsletter

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The Friends of Terra Cotta, Inc. is a national, non-profit organization founded to promote education and research in the preservation of architectural terra cotta and related ceramic materials. The organization seeks to educate the general public and construction industry professionals about architectural terra cotta’s value and history as a building material.

In their fall newsletter, FOTC published an article on the 2022 ACAWorkshop, discussing the importance of solar performance in façade design.

 

Excerpt from the Friends of Terra Cotta – Fall Newsletter

“Terra cotta’s return as a material of choice in contemporary architecture has to do with its capacity to be molded into any form, colorfully glazed, and richly textured. These properties align with architecture’s focus today on expressive form, unique structures, and a more expansive palette. In addition, new techniques for manufacturing terra cotta and adapting them to contemporary construction have made it a competitive alternative to concrete and aluminum. While terra cotta’s formal capacities will continue to be drivers of design, new technological options need to be investigated to make it a material of necessity in the architect’s repertoire.

“ACAW was developed in 2016 by John Krouse and support staff from Boston Valley Terra Cotta. The goal was to explore the challenges of what terra cotta will be able to offer architects in the near future. The 2022 workshop, the 7th to be held, had eight participating groups of architects and collaborators: BKSK, BNIM, FXCollaborative, NADAAA, Pelli Clark & Partners, Steven Holl Architects, WJE, and Woods Bagot.

“This year’s prototypes continued research into façade designs that integrate fenestration, photovoltaic panels, shading and screening devices to develop more performative assemblies. Also, how the rainscreen system can be integrated into historic preservation projects. Finally, there were projects testing the sculptural possibilities of the material as architectural surface, exhibition display, and urban furniture.

“The focus on using terra cotta to reflect light or to be integrated with various photovoltaic panels may stem from a 2019 New York City law. Local Law 97, enacted by the City Council as part of a pioneering legislative package, is aimed at reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change. The law zeros in on large buildings, limiting their emissions. The city’s one million buildings generate nearly 70% of its carbon emissions – much of the energy for their heating, cooling, and lighting comes from burning fossil fuels.

“Now, with just 16 months until the deadline to meet the law’s first thresholds – and with the threat of fines that could climb to millions of dollars a year for buildings that do not – landlords are on high alert. Emissions thresholds fall significantly for the second deadline, in 2030, which likely means that many more buildings will need to make major changes, including replacing building systems, to avoid paying hefty fines. Architects are, of course, well aware of this law and know that it is important for new construction to address these emissions guidelines. This is certainly one of the reasons that there was an emphasis on solar solutions in this year’s ACAW.”

Of the 8 projects at ACAW 2022, three were picked to share with FOTC members:

 

FX Collaborative
“Although this hexagonal wall is tricky to describe, it seems to have real potential for bringing sunlight into a building. The back of each hexagon has a cone like shape that has been partially cut, to allow light to enter the hexes and move further into the building.”

View Presentation >

 

The back view of the hexagon wall system shows how light enters the facade. Photo ©Dan Cappellazzo

 

The FX Collaborative team with their facade prototype. Photo ©Dan Cappellazzo

 

Pelli Clark & Partners
“Although this seems like a straightforward task, the development of terra cotta furniture of various types have been tested, most do not seem promising. However, this team developed a handsome and comfortable glazed terra-cotta seating arrangement.”

View Presentation >

 

Pelli Clarke’s terra cotta seating can be moved into a variety of arrangements. Photo ©Dan Cappellazzo

 

A closer look reveals the ridged texture of the ceramic seating. Photo ©Dan Cappellazzo

 

Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates (WJE)
“This very simple idea could really be useful in restorations where the cornice must be replaced. Rainscreen sections can be used to replicate certain cornice styles. This results in a lighter weight cornice, an easier installation (once the details are worked out), and a quicker turn-around time.”

View Presentation >

 

WJE’s terra cotta rainscreen system replicates a historic cornice using thin-walled extrusions and modular attachments. Photo ©Dan Cappellazzo

 

A profile view of the extruded rainscreen assembly. Photo ©Dan Cappellazzo

A rendering of what the Buro Happold / COOKFOX facade prototype applied to a building

Designboom and Dezeen cover the details of a living façade collaboration

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COOKFOX and Buro Happold team up to design bird and bee-friendly terra cotta façade
Designboom

AUTHOR: Myrto Katsikopoulou
DATE: 09.22.2022

During the Architectural Ceramic Assemblies Workshop (ACAW) hosted by Boston Valley Terra Cotta, COOKFOX Architects teamed up with façade engineers from Buro Happold to explore ceramics as a high-performance biophilic façade. The team was inspired to push the boundaries of architectural terra cotta by creating a screen wall that can incorporate microhabitats for bees, plants, and birds. The result sees a standardized stacking module that filters sunlight and provides the framework for a customizable series of terra cotta units.

 

One pod houses tubes in different sizes and materials where dozens of native solitary bees can nest. Photo courtesy of Buro Happold/COOKFOX.

 

Through months of design, experimentation, and fabrication, the team of architects and engineers created a modular structure composed of customizable terra cotta pods that provide shelter for different species.

The bigger base modules into which the micro-habitat pots are fitted are made of a high-fired and high-grogged terra cotta that is slip-cast or press-molded for large-scale, cost-effective production. This clay body is designed to withstand freeze-thaw cycles, shrinkage during manufacturing, and the rigors of façade applications. The micro-habitat pods themselves are slip-cast, low-fired terra cotta, which provides for water permeability to sustain each pod’s program.

 

The team works to assemble their prototype. Photo courtesy of Buro Happold/COOKFOX.

 

During the design process, the team collaborated with Boston Valley fabricators to create unique glazes and coloured clays known as ‘engobe.’ The team was able to explore the many qualities of color, opacity, and sheen; how a glaze can pool in valleys or ‘break’ over peaks; and how glaze interacts with engobe, thanks to this progressive experimentation. The procedure also examined the advantages and disadvantages of high-volume industrial production.

Read the full article here.

 

Buro Happold and Cookfox Architects develop living facade for birds and insects
Dezeen

AUTHOR: James Parkes
DATE: 09.16.2022

British engineering company Buro Happold and American architecture studio COOKFOX Architects have designed a terra cotta façade system that can house small wildlife, insects, birds and plants. The prototype was created for the 2021 ACAWorkshop by Andre Parnther and Spring Wu of Buro Happold, and Spencer Lapp of COOKFOX.

“The terra cotta screen wall is made with standardized stacking modules that create a framework for customizable terra cotta units, with micro-habitat pods inserted to suit the type of native fauna or flora: bees and birds, for example, and different kinds of plants,” Parnther told Dezeen.

Each individual module has a sculptural, arrow-like shape comprised of three prongs and circular openings that can be fitted with nesting pods, providing wildlife with habitable space beneath the surface of the façade.

 

Photo courtesy of Buro Happold/COOKFOX.

 

Pods dedicated to birds have approximately 2 cm-wide openings, with a rounded interior and ample depth to provide birds with comfortable nesting space. Four vent holes punctuate the sides of the pod to provide airflow to the interior of the nest.

Reeds were packed inside pods with 7 cm-wide openings, designed to house pollinating bees and create spaces for numerous species to nest and populate.

Plant pod prototypes feature a socket for planting as well as a reservoir set below the soil pocket, which are connected by a wick that allows greenery to self-water. The pod was designed with a glazed finish due to its high water content, to ensure that water is not absorbed by the material.

 

Three different terra cotta pod attachments can be bolted to the underside of the assembly. Photo courtesy of Buro Happold/COOKFOX.

 

“The use of buildings, rooftops and grounds as wildlife habitat is an essential part of long-term health for people and their ecosystems. It is a part of LEED and Living Building certifications, among others,” said Parnther. “We’re finding there is much more we can do in terms of ecological restoration in our cities and built environments generally.”

Read the full article here.

2021 ACAW Team Receives Recognition for Collaborative Project, V-Soleil

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TITLE: Award: V-Soleil
SOURCE: Architect Magazine
AUTHOR: Murrye Bernard
DATE: 08.18.2022
IMAGES: Architecture Research Office

In 2021,  Architecture Research Office (ARO), Heintges Consulting, and fabricator TriPyramid Structures teamed up to participate in the 6th annual Architectural Ceramic Assemblies Workshop (ACAW), to explore the exterior envelope applications of terra cotta with the goal to create an abstraction of a natural screen on large-scale facades. That collaboration resulted in V-Soleil, a curtain-like brise soleil inspired by organic forms of leaf and vine structures as well as the geometry of traditional diamond-patterned espalier trees. The system was recognized by ARCHITECT magazine with a 2022 R+D Award. Now in its 16th year, the R+D Awards program honors research and technologies at every scale that have advanced the profession—from design strategies and building products to fabrication methods, installations, software, and materials.

V-Soleil is made up of a single V-shaped glazed terra cotta module that interlocks with adjacent modules to create a diamond-shaped screen. Depending on the orientation of the façade, the module’s orientation and overlap with its adjacent module changes in order to optimize its shading capacity.

“The deep research and iterative prototyping development behind V-Soleil is so thoughtful and unique. The form and array of the modules are strikingly beautiful, and the analysis of how the terra-cotta forms can be aggregated, altered based on façade orientation, and replaced if needed, perfectly demonstrates the rigor and creativity of the team behind this project.” —Juror Kat Schneider

 

V-Soleil’s curtain-like terra-cotta brise soleil provides shade from the sun. Image courtesy Architecture Research Office

 

The V-Soleil system comprises interlocking V-shaped glazed terra-cotta modules that are supported on a double-layer tension net structure. Image courtesy Architecture Research Office

 

At ACAW, the team explored slip-cast and ram-pressed methods for producing the units at the Boston Valley facility, learning from the glaze specialists about the aesthetic and manufacturing implications of through-body and glaze options. Another area of exploration was the connection between the terra cotta unit and the cable, including ways to allow units to be replaced without disassembly of the system. 

ACAW is a hands-on research and development workshop for architects and façade engineers to explore the use of terra cotta in high-performance façade design. The workshop’s objective is to introduce and consider the properties of terra cotta earlier in the architect’s design process and to develop research and design models between manufacturing and architectural industries useful for the efficient production of high-performance façade solutions.

Read the full ARCHITECT magazine article here.

You can watch the team’s 2021 presentation here.

If you’re interested in learning more about ACAW or participating in a future workshop, visit archceramicworkshop.com

The biophilic facade design created at ACAWorkshop 2021 consists of separate modules for bird, bee, and plant habitats.

Buro Happold and COOKFOX explore biophilic façades at ACAW 2021

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TITLE: COOKFOX and Buro Happold design living facade for the birds and the bees
SOURCE: The Architect’s Newspaper
AUTHOR: Chris Walton
DATE: 05.25.2022

 

The Architect’s Newspaper has published a recap detailing the collaboration between COOKFOX’s Spencer Lapp and Buro Happold’s Andre Parnther that took place at the ACAWorkshop in 2021. The team aimed to reimagine the exterior façade as much-needed habitat space for birds, bees, and plants in the urban environment.

Both COOKFOX and Buro Happold have prior experience working with terra cotta in NYC, taking part in past Boston Valley fabrication projects The Fitzroy and 512 West 22nd Street.

 

A planter module to the left; bee habitat and bird nest modules to the right. Photo courtesy of Buro Happold/COOKFOX.

 

Through extensive process and pattern studies, Lapp and Parnther developed a biophilic design consisting of a modular system of slip cast pods. Each module is shaped to occupy a specific function in the local ecosystem: as bird nests, with proper air flow and drainage; as bee habitats, protected from the elements; and as planters, with a bottom-watering system and overflow drain.

Lapp and Parnther considered a number of color palettes for the assembly’s exterior glazing, working with Boston Valley’s glaze lab to eventually settle on a study of luster, blue, and white. Subtle variations often emerge during the glazing process due to factors such as the color being used, differences in firing temperature, and how the glaze pools along the profile.

 

Variations in color and distribution emerge in the glazing process.

 

The team had to address a number of questions over the course of their prototype development, resulting in a few changes to the design. One of the benefits of ACAW is it provides a valuable “sandbox” space where architects and engineers can explore and refine experimental concepts such as this one. In several instances, prototypes conceived at ACAW have gone on to become real, built projects, including the new Orange County Museum of Art’s curved panel façade.

Read the full article here.

 

COOKFOX’s Spencer Lapp and Zach Grzybowski work with Buro Happold’s Andre Parnther to assemble the prototype.

 

Green Building & Design interviews John Krouse about the impact ACAW has on modern architecture

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Green Building & Design (gb&d) magazine wrote an article about the use of Architectural Terra Cotta for modern buildings in response to the changing needs of new buildings. They also dive into Boston Valley’s Architectural Ceramic Assemblies Workshop (ACAW) and the possibilities, limitations, and design flexibility of architectural terra-cotta.

Change—exploring the possibilities, limitations, and additional research required of architectural terra-cotta—requires creativity and experimentation. This is why the ACAW was born in 2016.
 
In the months preceding the live event in late summer, teams are assembled to address a hypothetical project involving ATC. “It’s like an open charette,” Krouse says. “The teams spend several months learning how the material can be used. It’s fun and competitive, and what comes out of each team is amazing.”

The Goody Clancy Architects team at ACAW 2021. Photo courtesy of Boston Valley Terra Cotta

Click here to read the full article.

TITLE: Architectural Terra-Cotta is Tough, Lightweight, Versatile, and Green
SOURCE: gb&d
AUTHOR: Russ Klettke
DATE: 08.16.2021