Ceramic tile: The Latest Architecture and News

Heatherwick Studio has revealed the design of a new shopping district in the historic city of Xi’an in Shaanxi, China. The proposal aims to highlight the city’s rich heritage of ceramic-making and, through this, to create a sensory experience for visitors in opposition to the restricted act of online shopping. Spanning over 1115,000 square meters, the development features a mixture of functions, from offices, apartments, and a hotel, to a variety of green spaces, rooftop terraces, gardens, and a sunken terrace, all doubling as social spaces. The project is under construction and scheduled for completion in 2024.

Working within the restrictions of a limited carbon footprint can be one of the hardest – but also most rewarding – parts of a modern architect’s role. Whether to suit a large multinational corporation’s sustainability report, to achieve LEED status or similar for a commercial developer, or to build an eco-home for a climate-conscious private client – or even one who just wants to spend less on energy, it’s imperative to keep up-to-date with the latest carbon-neutral and low-carbon building practices and materials.

Whether looking at a project’s structural beginnings, its high-grade finishes, or thinking more holistically about its entire lifetime, there are huge gains to be made with sustainable substitutes and alternatives to traditional materials and techniques.

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When a country becomes known for its most famous export, the two together can become synonymous with quality. Combinations such as French wine, Italian marble and German engineering are examples of the hallmark of excellence provided simply by a product’s geographic birthplace. While Portugal’s most famous and most passionate exports could equally be cork, football, or egg-based sweet treats, there’s far more to the Portuguese culture and economy than preening soccer players and custard tarts.

While Portuguese culture’s relationship with ceramics is known for the distinctively patterned plates, bowls, and jugs millions of tourists attempt to keep intact on the journey home, few are paying the extra baggage charge for 50 sqm of ceramic tiles. The country’s agreeable climate, however, along with a history of craftsmanship and the natural strength, durability, and pigment of Portuguese clay, means high-quality ceramic facades are an identifiable feature of Portuguese architecture. And the material is exported all over the world for both exterior and interior surfaces.

You’re going to wish you saw this Instagram worthy art installation. Gateways (@Landofceramics) at the central fountain in Granary Square, King’s Cross closed this week. It was designed to celebrate the DesignJunction event (September 21-24) an interior design show by and for the industry, set in challenging industrial sites as part of the greater London Design Festival.