Field Work: Clay Matter(s)

Key to the Sustainability Design Lab experience is the work you do in the world. Throughout Clay Matter(s), students discovered the material and cultural life of clay across New England, guided even further by a wide range of practitioners and experts in the field.

In the field

A central element of Clay Matter(s) was a series of guided visits to local landscapes, through which students investigated on-site sourcing and uses of clay. They also took part in workshops and discussions with local communities, institutions and skilled craftspeople representing diverse practices within the design, fabrication and construction industries. These hands-on experiences introduced students to a variety of making techniques, enriching their understanding of the material’s potential and limitations.

an outstretched arm points toward a mass of gray-brown clay on the ground

a ceiling composed of ornately arranged mosaic tile

several people gathered outdoors in a courtyard with a large brick exterior in the background

an overhead view of a curved ceiling made of worn brick, supported by a similarly worn-brick entryway

people congregate outdoors around an eroded recess in the ground, with green trees behind them

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Visiting practitioners

Critical engagement with disciplinary experts is essential to learning within the SDL. During the lab’s inaugural year, students in Clay Matter(s) gained hands-on and scholarly insight from individuals and organizations encompassing a wide range of expertise in the application of clay to sustainable design. Threaded through all components of the SDL curriculum, the insights of regional, national and international practitioners broadens the scope and scale of how our students think, make and respond to the most pressing issues in the area of sustainable architecture and design.

Maddalena Achenza

An expert in earthen architecture, Maddalena Achenza is an associate professor at the University of Cagliari (Italy), within the institution’s faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture. As a scholar and practitioner in the areas of conservation, restoration and architectural engineering, Achenza is president of the International Scientific Committee on Earthen Architectural Heritage, a part of the International Council on Monuments and Sites professional association. At Cagliari, she teaches courses focused on earthen architecture at the intersection of culture and sustainability.

students and visiting artist shape a clay vessel together inside a studio space

numerous clay objects on a table, including a layered brick and many molded clay spheres in shades of brown

three people pack dirt onto a wooden frame with several horizontal beams connecting the frame

hands peel back tape from the borders of dirt squares in a grid

several students gather around an artist discussing work, with six dark clay vessels in the foreground

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Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 3 MA (BAC Local 3)

BAC Local 3 represents thousands of tradesworkers in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Consisting of individuals skilled in every area of masonry craft, including restoration specialists waterproofers, mosaic workers and others, the union plays a critical role in adapting regional infrastructure to present and future ecological challenges.

a student and a brick tradesperson discuss a bricklaying project inside a workroom

students gather around craftsperson in workspace filled with several neat stacks of brick

several students observe and photograph sample brick assemblages in a warehouse space

two students working in the studio with bricks and mortar

students photograph a stained clay surface inside a warehouse space

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Virginia San Fratello

Educator, designer and creative technologist Virginia San Fratello leads the multidisciplinary design firm Rael San Fratello (alongside Ronald Rael). A widely published scholar and practitioner across a range of design disciplines, she is also the chair of San Jose (CA) State University’s Department of Design and a partner in Emerging Objects, a “MAKE-tank” focused on 3D printing in architecture, building components and product design.