“Slip stitch” refers both to the novel method of joining ceramic architectural components and to the customized U-shaped ceramic building block that were developed in this research. One half of the stitch building block was digitally modeled, 3D printed at full-scale using a high-resolution PolyJet, and cast into a plaster mold that was, in turn, used to cast the half-stitch slip (clay slurry) components. Two half-stitches can be joined to make a full stitch using a half-lap joint that is filled with additional slip and held together for five minutes. Full stitches can then be knit together to form structural, non-standard wall assemblies that have varying levels of density and transparency.

Collaborators: Siobhan Feehan & Farhan Mirza