Developed by researchers and students from the Material Processes and Systems (MaP+S) Group at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Ceramic Tectonics: Tile Grid Shell explores the structural capabilities of thin, large format ceramic tiles – a product commonly used as an interior surface finish or exterior cladding.
 

Structural applications such as the Harvard grid shell are emerging as new applications for tiles, challenging age-old perceptions of ceramic as surface finish. Ceramic Tectonics asks the question; can a product, typically used as a two-dimensional surface also define and enclose a three-dimensional space?
 

Fabricated from non-reinforced 6mm thick ceramic tile, the catenary form of this triangular, self-supporting grid shell is designed to minimize internal stresses and efficiently span between three points of support.… Continue Reading