Through this work we investigate additive manufacturing with clay, exploring its spatial and ornamental capacities within the given cultural context of the ruins of the Maxentius Basilica within the Forum Romanum. The historic context, the local identity and aspects related to craftsmanship inform our design thinking and the robotics fabrication strategy. Roman architecture represents a culmination point of technological innovation, material understanding and architectural expression.

In this project, we focus on one of the missing vaults of the Maxentius Basilica and exploring the digital and physical challenges of working with clay and additive manufacturing. The force flow lines and stress lines within the Basilica’s vault are hidden from the viewer. We intend to expose them, making the immaterial visible through material expression. These are used as a departure point for a series of advanced structural analysis, simulation and evaluation steps. The force flow lines are expressed three-dimensionally in the tile design through a series of computational steps, followed by a computational tessellation strategy. In order to reduce material use but also to amplify the spatial impact of the new vault on the site through light and shadow plays, a porosity strategy was applied on the ceramic tiles, allowing for light to pass through.

Team: Jan-Willem Melchers, Thijs Maas Geesteranus, Dena Khaksar

Computational Tutors: Cristina Nan & Mattia Zucco

Structural Expertise: Arjan Habraken

Eindhoven University of Technology