I had the pleasure of attending ACAW for the second time this year in Buffalo, NY, and what an amazing experience it was. Unlike previous years, we proposed attending the workshop with a trans-Atlantic Arup team comprised of architectural designers, façade engineers, and material experts from London, Los Angeles, and Toronto.
Our team successfully built a prototype of a revolutionary terracotta wall system that eliminates the need for miles of secondary steel or aluminum, saving thousands of kilograms of CO2 equivalent while also greatly simplifying the installation and disassembly of the building envelope. Our design incorporated FOAMGLAS, graciously donated by Owens Corning, as both a thermal and structural component in our wall assembly.
This process began in early January, with fabrication drawings due in April. During this period, our team iterated through many versions of our design, explored different forming methods for the terracotta components, and experimented with surface texturing and glaze selection. It all culminated last week, when our team, with the help of students from Carnegie Mellon University and the University at Buffalo, used every available minute to construct our prototype with both finished exterior and interior surfaces. This time was also enriched with engaging lectures from the academic teams and a review of the historical architecture in Buffalo, NY.
Working with terracotta in my professional career has provided me with a delightful full-circle moment, allowing me to integrate my years of expertise as a studio ceramicist into my façade engineering practice.
Special thanks to University at Buffalo and Boston Valley Terra Cotta, specifically John Krouse, Andrew Pries, and Andy Brayman, for facilitating such a great event. It wouldn’t have been possible without Omar Khan and Mic Patterson PhD, overseeing it all.
To our assembly team, it would not have been realized without you all: Alexis Harrison, Cristina G., Eveline Lam, Edward Tricklebank, Leigh Stone, Safayath Rafat, Shreeja Hari, and Bina Guo.
#acaw #arup #architecturalceramics