since 2016
THE ADVANCED CERAMICS R&D LAB
The Advanced Ceramics R&D Lab is an emerging laboratory, based in the Design Institute of Guimarães, which aims to explore the integration of digital additive manufacturing techniques in the architectural design and production processes of ceramic elements for building envelopes.
The Design Institute of Guimarães is an institution dedicated to design investigation, to the incorporation of design in product development, to specialized training as well as to the promotion and dissemination of industrial products combined with design. It is also an open platform for the communication between industry and designers and a communication platform between industry and knowledge’s producing centres with the aim of promoting economic development through design. The Institute works in close coordination with University of Minho and other research institutions and asserts itself as a centre of expertise in the area of product design.
INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT
NETWORKING
The Advanced Ceramics R&D Laboratory cooperates with Professors Ulrich Knaack and Dennis de Witte from the Design of Construction, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, and the Institute of Structural Mechanics and Design, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany, in exploring the integration of digital additive manufacturing techniques in the architectural design and production processes of free-form stoneware bricks for building envelopes.
Recent experiments invigorated the use of ceramic materials as a contemporary option for architectural production, enabling new uses and challenging functions. In addition to the complex architectural challenges, these components require specific functional characteristics to be competitive in the market.
The Advanced Ceramics R&D Lab integrates a Portuguese ceramics platform that merges the know-how and the complementary skills of institutions devoted to the R&D of innovative ceramic products. It includes the University of Aveiro, the University of Minho and the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo.
