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Porous Ceramics

Porous Ceramics for Urban Rewilding

Porous Ceramics for Urban Rewilding

A bio-receptive material for supporting local biodiverse plant life in order to rewild the built environment.

Performance of Ceramic Sponge Samples

Performance of Ceramic Sponge Samples

In order to support local flora, a material was needed which could replicate optimal growth conditions in terms of water absorption, pH, nutrient content, and root growth opportunities.

Porous Ceramic under the Microscope

Porous ceramics were determined to provide the best performance. Earthenware clay naturally absorbs water and its chemical properties can be modified.

Many methods of achieving porosity were investigated before the ideal material recipe was found.

Colonised Material Sample

This sample was colonised by local plants in a matter of weeks: a proof of concept for the material’s performance.

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Scalable Fabrication

Casting a Tile

Casting a Tile

Fabric moulds facilitated large pores on the exterior surfaces of the cast pieces, while allowing a wide variety of formal outputs.

Family Tree of Potential Outputs

The flexibility of the fabrication method lends itself to a variety of potential uses for this material in the built environment.

Cast Module and Patterned Tile

Both hollow 3D modules and flat tiles with surface patterning were successfully cast in porous earthenware.

Detail of Surface Patterning and Porosity

Surface texturing from the moulds provides macro-scale niches for plant colonisation on top of the meso- and micro-scale material porosity.

Long-term Pilot Study

Long-term Pilot Study

A prototype structure of porous ceramic tiles will test the material’s performance over several years in a site at the Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park.

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Designing with Environmental Data

Environmental and Formal Analysis

Structural analysis as well as wind, rain and sun simulations enabled designing for colonisation as well as simulation of predicted results.

Analysis of Prototype Structure

Analysis of tile niches and exposure to sun, wind and rain is used to analyse and predict plant colonisation and spread.

Modular Assemblies

Modular Assemblies

Analysis at architectural scales enabled assignment of modules within an assembly based on the functional requirements at a given point in the assembly.

Site-specific Modular Assembly

Aggregated module pavilions were generated based on site-specific environmental data for Chennai, London and Taipei.

Biodiverse Urban Green Infrastructure

The use of bio-receptive materials in the built environment can produce a continuous green urban landscape.

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