New Delft Blue is a pioneering project in the historic Dutch city Delft, designed and 3D-printed by Studio RAP. In this case, the project reinterprets the world-famous decorative qualities and design vocabulary of Delft Blue porcelain. All this, by fusing 3D clay printing, computational design, and tradition.
The approximately 4,000 lush ceramic pieces will clad the two large entry gates of the PoortMeesters building block, which is part of the large scale redevelopment Nieuw Delft. These gates, four meters wide, eight meters high and twelve meters deep, cover a large public staircase where a serpentine line in the ornamental pattern guides viewers eyes past the straight lines of the staircase. For the manufacture of the pieces, Studio RAP used an algorithmic approach to 3D pattern design. After printing these tests at Studio Rap’s workshop, the tiles have been fired and glazed by Koninklijke Tichelaar. This work between the two teams has made it possible to combine the tile with artisanal glazing, a poetic process of ‘painting with shape’ that has given them to create contemporary, rich and unique ceramic tiles.
The New Delft Blue project shows the potential for 3D printed ceramics can go far and for this reason, it will also be applied in a future residential highrise project that the Dutch company is designing
