Claying Architecture

Claying Architecture: Making Machine and Material Kin presents a curated collection of essays, interviews, and projects from leading architects, designers, and researchers who are analysing the role of clay 3D printing in contemporary architecture. The book blends research, theory, and practice to highlight how this ancient material is being re-imagined through 3D printing, robotic fabrication, and innovative construction techniques. Through original essays and project showcases, Claying Architecture brings together 30 plus voices from contemporary architectural academia and practice to interrogate why clay is a protagonist in contemporary architecture as an agent capable of binding new kinships between processes, environments, and culture. In this sense, our 'kinship' with the machines of digital fabrication mirrors our 'kinship' with one another and opens up ways to reflect on how 3D printing clay is a method to reconsider how we code, construct, and conceive architecture.

Doyle, Melendez, Murphy, and Scelsa are United States based architects and educators working in digital clay 3D printing as integral to their teaching and research practices.
Other contributors: Matthew Allen, Rachel Armstrong, Ehsan Baharlou, Martin Bechthold, Richard Beckett, Van Beerendonk, Jennifer Birkeland, Jan Contala, Sandy Curth, Nancy Diniz, Shelby Doyle, Laura Garofalo, Nate Hume, Erin Lindsey Hunt, Margaret Ikeda, Evan Jones, Negar Kalantar, Omar Khan, Christian Lange, Adam Marcus, Kelley Van Dyck Murphy, Pierre Oskam, Sutherlin Santo, Shawn Protz, Jenny Sabin, Virginia San Fratello, Andrew Saunders, Jonathan A. Scelsa, Alex Schofield.