Textile Column

Textile column is a skin of 3D printed ceramic tiles that are an experimental proposal for an ornamental, fire-resistant cladding system for structural steel. The piece offers a critical practice against the state of the art by reimagining architectural ceramics in the digital age using Semperian metaphors of textile and dressing as design principles. 

The approach is illustrative of an alternative to the complex computational design methods that dominate the field with greater focus on architectural theory and analogue thinking. The aim of the experiment is to question how we design using paste-based additive manufacturing technologies from an architectural perspective and explore 3D printed clay for its ornamental and fire-resistant qualities. 

Cladding elements are printed as interlocking pieces that support each other during the fabrication process. They are split apart once dry, placed back together to mitigate non-uniform shrinking throughout the firing process. The pieces are then assembled around a steel column and held in place using steel ties meaning the cladding can be assembled and disassembled at a future date.

A black stoneware clay is used to mimic the blackness of the steel it encases. A woven textile-like surface is developed through the movement of the clay extruder and other aspects of fabric connections like seams and wrapping are interpreted to develop the tectonics of the system.

Dissemination

Research Publications

Pain, S 2022, 'How to Dress a Column: 3D printed ceramics for architectural cladding systems', Built Environment Additive Manufacturing 2022, s. 76-82. https://be-am.de/symposium/

Pain, S, Bartov, N, Choo, EP & Young, J 2022, Textile Column: Drawing and weaving with 3D printed clay. i MF Hvejsel & PJS Cruz (red), Structures and Architecture: A Viable Urban Perspective?: Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Structures and Architecture (ICSA 2022). CRC Press/Balkema, Structure and Architecture, nr. 2, s. 265-267, ICSA2022, Aalborg, Danmark, 06/07/2022.

Pain, S, Choo, EP, Bartov, N & Young, J 2022, How to dress a column: An architect's method for designing with 3D printed clay. i MF Hvejsel & PJS Cruz (red), Structures & Architecture: A Viable Urban Perspective?: Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Structures and Architecture (ICSA 2022). CRC Press/Balkema, Leiden, The Netherlands, Structure and Architecture, nr. 2, s. 237-244, ICSA2022, Aalborg, Danmark, 06/07/2022. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.1201/9781003023555-29/dress-column-architect-method-designing-3d-printed-clay-pain-choo-bartov-young

Pain, S 2023, 'Ways of Seeing: A method of poetic analysis for practice-based researchers in architecture', Architectural Research in Finland, bind 6, nr. 1, s. 277-291. https://doi.org/10.37457/arf.130455

Research Exhibitions

Pain S, Textile Columns, 2022, ICSA2022: 5th International Conference on Structures and Architecture - CREATE, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Danmark https://adk.elsevierpure.com/ws/portalfiles/portal/69510031/ICSA2022_Critical_Practices_Booklet.pdf

Pain, S, Ornamented 3D Printed Ceramic Column, 2022, Fokus: Ornament, Vienna Design Week, Vienna, Austria. https://www.viennadesignweek.at/en/archive/2022/fokus-ornament/

Pain, S. Textile Columns: Drawing and weaving with 3D printed clay, 2022, BE-AM 2022 Symposium and Exhibition - Formnext, Frankfurt, Tyskland https://be-am.de/symposium/