3DX1

Ceramic manufacturing has extended so far beyond our existing preconceptions that the idea of a 3 mm thick 300 cm long ceramic tile that bends would leave many people in disbelief. For the Fuori Salone 2012 Milan Design Week ceramic manufacturer Fiandre partnered with architect Odile Decq to show- case their large format ceramic tile line Maximum. Large format tiles have increased in popularity over the past decade and due to advances in technology manufacturers are now capable of producing tiles as large as 300 x 150 cm with thicknesses of 3 to 6 mm. These tiles are so large and thin they bend be- fore breaking defying the conventional wisdom that classifies ceramic as a brittle material.

It was these qualities that led Odile Decq to design 3DX1. By liberating the tiles from their traditional role as surface coverings she drew attention to the paper thin ceramic; both its suppleness and its strength. The volume is rendered dynamic by the extraction of a conical volume cutting diagonally through the layers. Here the designer’s intention was to redirect the perspective of the viewer and to influence their sense of materiality. From each view point a different relationship of solid and void is experienced.