Keratop: an architectural biome, is a 3D-printed ceramic facade panel that responds to the current environmental situation and its need to intertwine architecture and nature. The fragment, made, questions architecture within ecology and it's meaning as a space of cultural and biodiverse reproduction. This prototype consists of a multi-part, complex 3D ceramic that acts as a plant support structure. An urban vertical biotope is formed - the attempt to architectonize the natural.
Local
Austria
In the city of Innsbruck, Austria.
Mainly urban
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
As individual(s) in partnership with organisation(s)
First name: Jan Last name: Contala Gender: Male Please describe the type of organization(s) you work in partnership with: The organization/ workshop collective I worked in partnership with is ceraLAB, co-founded by Philipp Schwaderer (01.01.1993) and myself Jan Contala. As a digital crafting collective, we experiment with translating traditional craft into digital craft. Our focus lies on creating intricate forms without compromising materiality, sustainability and digital design. We specialize in ceramics, creating a seamless interaction between the natural material and the machine while pushing the boundaries between craft and digital through sheer curiosity. Age: 29 Please attach a copy of your national ID/residence card:
By ticking this box, I certify that the information regarding my age is factually correct. : Yes Nationality: Germany Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Innrain 36/12 Town: Innsburck Postal code: 6020 Country: Austria Direct Tel:+436603990416 E-mail:jan@cera-lab.com Website:https://cera-lab.com
This work examines the material ceramics in the context of digital fabrication, 3D printing. As a building material, ceramics symbolically describes ecology's slowness and durability. The complex needs of a biodiverse architecture can be served today with the help of additive manufacturing.
Unfired ceramics, raw clay, is a ubiquitous natural building material belonging to our ecology, making it available around the globe. Using local building materials and in-situ 3D printing, parts are fabricated with minimal material use and endless recycling ability.
The project ties in with the craftmanship, working on preparing the material, 3D printing ceramics and surface finishing by glazing. An architectural, functional prototype will be designed, fabricated, and installed, eliminating the separation between architecture and nature. This prototype consists of a multi-component, complex 3D ceramic that acts as a plant support structure. An urban vertical biotope is formed - an attempt to architecturize the natural.
Architecture
digital fabrication
ecology
ceramics
diversity
Greening a dense urban space improves air quality, regulates the urban climate, and attenuates noise. The complex structure (multi-layers, mix of materials) of a greened facade can be significantly simplified with the help of digital design and manufacturing (3D printing). Digitally designed ceramic facades can become a sustainable habitat for various plants due to their orientation and porosity. Requirements for components include water absorption and conductivity, frost resistance, and open-pored surfaces to support roots and climbing plants. In the case of Keratop, this is achieved using ceramics as a natural building material in combination with the technology of 3d printing.
In the following listed points, the project refers to the SDG ́s
SDG1: 3D printing reduces the manufacturing cost of large and complex building components. This, in turn, lowers the cost of constructing new buildings, not only making housing more individualized and cost-effective.
SDG8: 3D printing technology enables local/in-situ fabrication, minimizing supply chains and transportation. Local materiality comes to the fore.
SDG9: Innovation is driven by technology and the processing of natural materials. The combination can create unprecedented forms. This can lead to the promotion of local building techniques and hybrid/digital craftsmanship.
SDG11: Digital design and fabrication technologies enable facades and wall elements to be designed as vertical gardens. Sustainable production in terms of local value creation reduces CO2 impact. In addition, a local climate is generated, which cools the air locally and cleans it of pollutants.
SDG12: Due to its structural profile and closed-loop, additive rather than reductive, 3D printing generates no waste in production. The material composition of ceramics is particularly suitable in this regard, as ceramics can be bound into a material cycle.
The resulting architectural fragment forms different experiences of contemporary, biodiverse, sustainable architecture. Attention to the impact of the environment is to be drawn to its surface within the fragment. Beauty is achieved by highlighting the qualities of nature that can be experienced through the changing colors and movements of reproduction. Its connection with the environment is seen as positive. It seeks to break down the false duality between architecture and nature, considering the meaning and beauty in the interconnectedness of all matter instead.
In addition to the new aesthetics created by biodiversity, 3D-printed ceramics also have the potential to enable cultural diversity.
Ceramic objects and the associated craft with its chronological component are integral in different cultures. Here, additive manufacturing can integrate culturally based motifs and forms into architecture. Parallel to a dialect in language, or regional expressions, a new cultural expression can arise in architecture.
Inclusion through design diversity. When we speak about biodiverse architecture, we must differentiate between a green wall and an architecturally designed green wall. In the case of an architectural green wall, we have a hybrid structure where architectural mass (cultural expression) and greenery are interlaced. Digitally, many data or cultural values/ideas can be processed and woven into a hybrid carpet. By using common design interfaces and crowd design/computing, complexity can be created that meets the needs of society. Within a digital algorithm, this information can be transformed into 3-dimensional geometry. The fragment stands symbolically for the community's diversity, whereby belonging becomes readable through the individuality of the panels.
This vast information can only be accommodated through a digital CAD/CAM process. The architect defines the framework conditions in the algorithm but leaves himself free in digital information processing. This can create an architecture in which the user or occupant can intervene at the level of surface design. Flat surfaces can become biodiverse/cultural ornaments. Combining natural building materials with local value creation through 3D printing promotes local materiality. This can save supply chains and transport routes, reducing the manufacturing costs of large and complex components.
On the other hand, inclusion is also on a level of accessibility. With the idea of Keratop, we can create multiple vertical micro-gardens. This enables people living in densely populated areas to enjoy, experience and benefit from nature without traveling.
Keratop's concept focuses specifically on urban space. Densely populated urban areas need more interventions to make them more tangible or habitable. In the past, ceramics were still mainly used in architecture to decorate surfaces. With the advent of robotics and 3D printing, ceramics can meet complex requirements, helping to produce biodiverse total solutions.
This makes a difference to the city's residents by reducing noise, improving the microclimate, and revitalizing the settlement by increasing the quality of life. By creating multiple micro-gardens, we make green spaces more accessible and beneficial.
In addition, the additional green space allows for a biodiverse habitat where vertical space is already built upon. Thus, nature finds its place even in cities where land is scarce. At the same time, greening the façade brings people closer to the seasons, delighting viewers with a seasonal floral dress. A natural environment that provides a habitat for animals and plants positively affects people's health. Therefore, it is especially beneficial in cities, where stress and lack of movement often affect the quality of life.
The project appeals to different groups of people, from ceramic enthusiasts joining a workshop to international ceramic companies. Starting with the material, I, respectively we within the collective ceraLAB, are in close contact with the company G&S - Görg&Schneider, Lars Magerkohl (Germany) and are working on a new possible material composition. Here we are also supported by the industrial ceramist Rene Rasbach e.K.(Germany) and STEKA technical ceramics, Innsbruck (Austria). From discussions with M&R Manufaktur GmbH (Germany), Karak - R&R OG (Austria) and regional architects, there is already broad interest in components that incorporate nature as ecology.
We have already successfully partnered up with various research institutions such as the University of Innsbruck, architecture department of experimental architecture exparch.hochbau under the direction of Prof. Marjan Colletti and material scientist Prof. Roman Lackner, UCL London Prof. Richard Beckett and UCLA Los Angeles Julia Körner are in close contact.
New technologies and the use of living / natural building materials is more current in the architectural discourse than ever. Experimental architecture is moving in the direction of biotechnology and is exploring possible application areas here.
I am also exploring these new fields of application at the University of Innsbruck with the help of students. Here, new perspectives open up the view of how nature and architecture can come together. These thoughts are also influenced by my experience in urban space and the lack of urban policies, which oblige me to take the initiative. Lastly, I am the co-founder of a ceramic collective called ceraLAB. Within this 3D printing collective and my work, I explore different applications of ceramics within architecture. It allows me to translate concepts from theory into tangible objects and test them for their requirement. My self-built 3D printer for ceramics is essential here.
When designing and implementing projects, it is crucial to work in an interdisciplinary way. Architecture's static systems are supplemented by living/dynamic systems and may soon be replaced. Here it is important to work with ceramicists, biologists, and botanists to understand the preservation of nature within architecture. Together, novel support structures can be developed that allow or reject connections (nature-architecture) in a controlled way.
Here we have close contact with the botanical gardens in Innsbruck, Austria. This has already helped us figure out how plants can grow without substrate on ceramic surfaces.
Furthermore, I am working as an external lecturer at the University of Innsbruck, investigating biodiverse architecture's geometric and functional advantages. A course developed the attached visuals I teach. Through experiments, digital and real (model building) different typologies could be developed and tested. By completing the work, a catalog of minimum requirements of green/ biodiverse architecture in relation to ceramics 3D printing could be defined. I further develop this basic research within Keratop and my interest.
Green facades have been known in architecture for several years, but they are always considered and installed as external systems, as an add-on. These plastic-based envelopes no longer meet the requirements of today's architecture. Instead, we need integration and, thus, a change in the existing methodology. We must use more sustainable materials and manufacturing processes to achieve a biodiverse architecture.
The project described, an architectural fragment, includes 2 innovative ideas. The first attempt involves the functional principles of a venturi nozzle for cooling urban space in conjunction with 3D ceramics. Using 3D printing technology, functions can also be integrated within the cross-section of the component. The Venturi nozzle is visible as perforation and can likewise be used to break up the wall in terms of design. Questions arise here, to what extent is this geometry printable? And to what extent can the geometry be changed without losing its function? Porosity can control evaporation and thus coolness and energy consumption in summer temperatures. A building with a ceramic facade surrounded by a cool air curtain. The 2nd experiment includes water supply to greenery. Greened urban spaces can sequester C02, cool air, and bring back lost biodiversity. An internal water supply system within the ceramics should supply the whole structure and contribute to nature conservation. These irrigation systems are already known as separate systems, in the form of plastic hoses. The goal is to consider the water routing not as a separate layer, but as an internal component.
In addition to a final design, the project also explores a methodology, or process, for producing digital ceramics for our built environment. This means that the 3 key findings of design, material composition, and manufacturing 3D printing can be replicated and quantified. The methodology enables, for example, the processing of digital twins, which only appear related in the real by changing the materiality. The triangle of material, technology, and design can be extended and modified; if not too much change, it guarantees a successful work.
We can also transfer the knowledge of creating a biome, by analyzing plant growth, nutrition, orientation and growth requirements. This is limited to similar geographic / climate conditions.
The concept addresses, with a focus on urban areas, how biodiversity and cultural diversity can be promoted through digital ceramics. Keratop references the SDG's and shows how sustainability can create a new aesthetic. Noise, air pollution, and inanimate urban spaces are problems of city dwellers that can be solved here. So is the maintenance of a microclimate through protection from UV radiation and the heat-regulating effect of greenery. In summary, strong action is taken here against the effects of climate change. Architecture in local extreme conditions can lead to global improvement.
