Innovations That Drive Sustainable Ceramic Material Selection  

Centuries of ceramics and porcelain—tiles, mosaics, pottery, wall and floor surfaces—have proven that this natural, versatile material is part of the human DNA. From simple drinking gourds to expressive tile mosaics that effectively transmit stories and myths of a variety of cultures, ceramics have evolved with technological changes. Within the past 25 years, the ceramic industry is one of many that has responded to the digital age with new, innovative products. Twenty-first century material science, nanotechnology, computer-driven machinery, new sustainability metrics, and communications are technological advances creating the opportunities for interactive design solutions among manufacturers and design professionals.

Photo: © Hufton + Crow/Studio Libeskind/Casalgrande Padana

Sapphire, a new residential complex in the heart of Berlin, is clad in 3-D, geometric-patterned porcelain stoneware that is not only beautiful but also has a surprising impact on air quality and maintenance. A tile manufacturer worked with Studio Libeskind to design a tile collection that features a technological advancement designed to self-clean and aid in air purification.

Unique clusters of manufacturers are driving innovations. As an example, according to Vittorio Borelli, chairman, Confindustria Ceramica, “For several years now, the Italian ceramic tile industry has been pursuing a policy of sustainable development, from selection of raw materials through to the production of products certified in accordance with the strictest international standards. It uses increasingly high-performance and efficient manufacturing systems capable of completely reusing waste, significantly reducing water consumption and emissions, using energy more efficiently, and maintaining a commitment of social responsibility toward people and the planet.” These new ceramic products include digitally printed walls and floors, durable large-scale and thin-line porcelain indoor and outdoor panels, healthy self-cleaning and antibacterial surfaces, embedded solar roofs, and sustainable production.

Principal solutions adopted by ceramic companies for efficiency and energy savings can include high-efficiency single-layer kilns, use of single-firing production cycles, cogeneration, heat recovery, use of materials with lower melting points, and energy diagnostics as well as sector energy consumption databases. Characteristics of sustainable ceramic products over their lifetime can include the amount of maintenance a product requires, its durability, nontoxicity, and recyclability.

Single-fired ceramics have a greater resistance to atmospheric agents and weather better than double-fired tiles. They have a higher breaking load and an exceptional resistance to wear, even with thinner tile profiles. Clay, shale, gypsum, and sand are the basis for all ceramics. The higher the oven temperature and increased compression of the clay material, the stronger the tile. Pioneered in Italy in the early 1990s, porcelain is a ceramic tile that is compressed and fired once at a temperature of 1,200–1,250 degrees Celsius. At those temperatures, the tile is vitrified or transformed to an inert, impermeable, high-strength material with an absorption rate less than 0.5 percent.

Photo courtesy of ABK Group

The invention of digital printing has led to the availability of large-format, thin porcelain panels with unlimited surface designs and textures.

Within the past 25 years, the industry has expanded its portfolio to include a range of thicknesses from 3 millimeters (¹⁄₈ inch) to surfaces up to 30 millimeters thick (1³⁄₁₆ inches). This development has led to the use of porcelain as both interior and exterior building and landscape surfaces. Nanotechnology has lead to new production techniques that create self-cleaning and antibacterial surfaces that do not require sealants. New computer numeric control (CNC) routers, water jet cutting, computer-driven surface manipulation, and the sharing of computer files between designers and manufacturers are the beginning of the story. The rest includes advances in grout, installation, and the development of sustainable production techniques.

Innovations in ceramics have supported market changes in health care, hospitality, commercial, and residential properties. From bathrooms to boardrooms and hospitals to schools, the ceramic industry is an advancement of one of the oldest materials on the planet. According to Bart Bettiga, executive director of the National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA), “The past twenty-five years have changed everything. The production and installation of large, thin porcelain tiles has revolutionized the industry.” He reports that “the technology to produce these changes came out of Italy, and in the past five to ten years.” This includes new digital ink printing that replicates wood, marble, as well as photographic images on surfaces in many sizes and shapes.

New ceramics have sustainable attributes and life-cycle advantages over other materials. In the past three years, the NTCA has developed new standard to guide design professionals in their selection and installation of these new products. From craft to science, ceramic innovations are changing the aesthetics of our built environment.

Photo courtesy of Imola Ceramica

New shapes and digital printing techniques provide a wide range of options for the selection of ceramic surfaces with various material finishes and looks.

Design Intelligence

Design professionals can influence perceptions and behaviors in buildings through both the form of a building as well as material selections. Social scientists and health-care professionals are providing data as to how humans respond to color, daylight, and natural textures. Intelligent design seeks to define environments that support human well-being. Innovative products that expand the designer's palette include a wide array of images with very high resolutions replicating stone, wood, and marble through introduction of new digital ink printing. Tiles are provided in sizes both rectangular and square, small or large, as “planks” and large-format “wallpaper.” These products are specified for health-care projects, in restaurants, and also for high-end residential and hotels.

Photo: © Eric Laignel/Rottet Studio

A large custom-printed graphic wall tile, digitally printed flooring, and benches are clad with moisture-resistant large porcelain panels and tiles on the decks of this Viking Ocean Cruises ship designed by Rottet Studio.

Not only are these surfaces applied to interior finishes but also to exterior pool decks, patios, and even the decks of a Viking Ocean Cruises ship line. When creating the brand for the ships and to meet strict marine environmental regulations, the international architecture and studio design firm Rottet Studio, along with the architect of record SMC, specified large hallway ceramic murals, hallway ceramic “carpets,” and seating. Simulated “terrazzo” flooring tiles in the hallways appear in and throughout the deck. The mid-ship pool is surrounded with tiles that look like wood but meet the requirements for slip resistance and durability at a very wet area. The team selected lightweight porcelain ceramics for this location where every ounce counts. These techniques are used to brand and coordinate the design character throughout the ship. The designer employs the change in color and texture to influence human behavior through wayfinding, universal design, and easy maintenance.

Photo courtesy of DEN Architecture

The “spa” bathroom for the Verburg Renovation in Miami Beach was designed by DEN Architecture. It selected a 36-by-36-inch porcelain tile with a striking geometric graphic along with large-format flooring for this renovation.

The combination of unique sizes and large-format porcelain tiles has also driven a movement toward ceramic “wallpaper.” The “spa” bathroom for the Verburg Renovation in Miami Beach was designed by DEN Architecture. It selected a 36-by-36-inch porcelain tile with a striking geometric graphic along with large-format flooring for this renovation. Large-format tiles have fewer grout lines that expand a room’s sense of space and make them easier to maintain. They can also change behaviors: new rules for walls installed with large porcelain writing surfaces allow for drawing and note taking and sketching at installations from kitchens to colleges.

Image courtesy of Florim

Large-size porcelain stoneware sheets as thin as 6 millimeters (¹⁄₂ inch) can open up many new alternatives for interior and exterior applications.

Photo courtesy of Ornamenta

New rules for walls installed with large porcelain writing surfaces allow for drawing and note taking on kitchen walls and even in children’s bedrooms.

Photo: © Tom Arban/ARK

Inspirational sayings are engraved in ceramic flooring at the UJA Federation of Toronto Community Complex.

Employing CNC engraving machines, ceramic manufacturers are partnering with designers to introduce language into their projects. Guela Solow-Ruda and Christophe Gauthier of Architects + Research + Knowledge (ARK), for the UJA Federation of Toronto, provide a thoughtful description of their design intentions for the Community Complex Campus. Their intent included the notion of a “common ground” for the entire community, using tile surfaces to express the building’s ideas both abstractly and literally, dissolving differences between diverse people. They used engraved large-format porcelain tile to extend the circulation route through the atrium. In terms of cultural identity, the engraved porcelain tiles created a canvas or substrate for abstract ideas, expressing the ideals of the Jewish community, never using the word “Jewish” but rather representing Jewish ideals: charity, friendship, respect, and beauty. Inserted along the pathway are inspirational sayings, engraved in individual tiles to inspire readers to participate in community life by reflecting on messages and then to look up and find themselves already immersed in the activities of the center.

The choice of ceramics with no volatile organic compounds (VOCs), easy maintenance, impact resistance, and high life-cycle analysis (LCA) values is consistent with the sustainable strategies employed in this project. Across the planet, ceramic manufacturers are following these principles to develop new products to meet ever expanding intelligent design for a variety of projects.

Sustainability: Environmental Product Declarations

Manufacturers in the ceramics industry have been stepping up to deliver products that meet some of the most stringent green building certifications. They are pursuing policies of sustainable development from selection of raw materials through to the products certified in accordance with the strictest green standards.

An environmental product declaration (EPD) is an independently verified document that provides comparable information about the life-cycle environmental impact of a product. As an example, 76 companies and 84 plants that represent 82.6 percent of all Italian ceramic tile production supported a study in 2014 that collected data that was then applied to the formulation of a new EPD. "Italian Ceramic Tiles Confindustria Ceramica" is a document referring to the average ceramic tile product manufactured by Confindustria Ceramica’s member companies.¹ Information on applications, construction, and technical data is defined from surface quality to structural density and water absorption in this EPD, providing samples of the sustainable characteristics of this product.

An EPD may be used for many different applications, including public procurement and building environmental assessments for certification programs. Characteristics that are measured by an EPD include both the environmental impact of the production of the ceramic product as well as the impact of the product after installation through deconstruction, or cradle-to-grave impacts. European environmental standards are embedded in building and product regulations, while energy use and carbon emissions are requested for product declarations and LCAs. In 2012, a detailed study was published by the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, “Comparative life-cycle analysis of different types of flooring materials.”² In this study, porcelain tiles have a lower LCA and therefore a less detrimental impact on the environment. The LCA score of porcelain is 0.1042 compared to 0.15271 for parquet, 0.23685 for carpet, 0.53425 for marble, 0.66474 for resin, and 0.92207 for linoleum.

Environmental impacts are measured as per international standards ISO 14025 and EN 15804, which define the parameters of the declaration and the requirements for EPDs of a certain product category, including that of the Italian Ceramic Tiles Confindustria Ceramica. The Building Product Disclosure and Optimization – EPD Guide is a LEED v4 category. The USGBC provides additional information on its website for guidance.³ LEED-compliant ceramics contribute to the overall sustainability of a building, for example, in terms of the percentage of pre- and post-consumer materials used as raw materials.

Ecolabel is the European ecological quality mark granted to products and services with the best environmental performance. The label certifies that the product or service has a low environmental impact throughout its entire LCA. The Environmental Management and Audit Scheme (EU EMAS) is granted by an independent body to companies that have voluntarily implemented an environmental management system (EMS), enabling them to introduce continuous goals of environmental improvement, analysis, and public reporting of results.

Choosing a LEED-compliant ceramic product has numerous benefits toward categories in green certifications, such as LEED for Materials and Resources. Some sustainable attributes include the following:

• Non-toxic ceramic tiles do not contain VOCs susceptible to the release of gases before, during or after installation.
• Easy maintenance requires only warm water and neutral detergents. Tiles are also inert and release no substances. Their ease of maintenance contributes to reducing costs for consumers during the useful lifetime of the tiled surface and risk of pollution caused by the use of chemical products.
• Durability ensures a life expectancy of up to 60 years in the United States compared to the average lifetime of respectively six, 10, and 15 years for carpet, vinyl, and wood floor coverings.
• Resistance to extreme atmospheric conditions, chemical attack, fire, flooding, humidity, temperature variations, and UV radiation.
• Local sourcing, recycled content, and recyclability: Raw materials are from readily available sources and are easy to dispose of at the end of their life cycle. They can also be recycled through reuse in the production process (minimizing the use of natural resources and the production of waste).

Photo courtesy of Iotti + Pavarani Architetti

The new Reale Group office in Turin, Italy, is designed to meet LEED Platinum standards and features lightweight composite panels constructed of large-format porcelain slabs.

Durable Porcelain Stoneware

Design professionals are exploring the advantages of exterior porcelain cladding that is resulting in numerous prize-winning green buildings. One of these, the new Reale Group office in Turin Italy, is designed to meet LEED Platinum Standards and features lightweight composite panels constructed of large-format porcelain slabs. The composition is an orchestrated design that includes alternations of glass and porcelain. The architects, lotti + Pavrani and Artecna studios, along with the engineering company Tosseti, developed a thin facade without grout at the edges of the angular recesses of the building. The color and texture of the finish surface were selected to complement the adjacent historic facades as required by city planners.

New ceramic technologies have allowed for the production of stoneware porcelain products of almost every size and thickness. An almost unlimited range of porcelain products are available for use in interiors and exteriors from floors to walls, roofing to cladding. Exterior porcelain panels can be specified in sizes as large as 5.25 by 10.5 feet with an unlimited palette of textures and colors. Thicknesses range from 3 to 20 millimeters (¹⁄₈–³⁄₄ inch). Some of the advantages of using porcelain tiles as exterior surfaces include the reduction of joints, the ability to specify unique sizes and geometries, as well as the sustainability of the raw material. For example, manufacturers are providing porcelain “slate” roof surfaces that:

• Are resistant to atmospheric agents and ultraviolet (UV) light
• Are resistant to chemical and inalterable to the biological agents
• Have water absorption < 0.1 percent
• Are frost resistant and weatherproof
• Have high impact resistance
• Are wind resistant
• Are easy to install
• Are scratch resistant

Whether on the roof or on the ground, exterior landscape tiles resist wear and provide alternatives to heavier materials. One benefit of large-format thin porcelain panels and tiles is they are both light and strong enough so that unlike similar materials, a shipper can stack 20 tiles on one palette, saving on shipping costs and environmental impacts.

Photo: © Atlas Concorde

The new pavilion and tile showroom of the Atlas Concorde winter gardens demonstrate a varied application of porcelain tiles, including outdoors. The 20-millimeter (³⁄₄-inch) exterior tiles are used in the interior to provide surface continuity.

Large Lightweight Porcelain Panels

Large porcelain stoneware panels that can be used in place of stone or other cladding materials are transforming the building industry. In July 2009, new types of large stoneware slabs were developed by an Italian manufacturer who since then has licensed this product throughout the world.⁴ A description of this process provides a look at how highly engineered computer controls are providing new ceramic building and landscape materials.

Raw Materials

The control of raw materials starts with the selection of basic components of clays, sands, and feldspars. Here is where a manufacturer with a life-cycle certification will select materials that meet sustainable guidelines. A computerized quality check by an automatic computerized weighing and dispensing system delivers the exact amount of each ingredient. This material is conveyed to a continuous mill that assures fine clay “paste” or “slip” with approximately 30 percent moisture content. The liquid suspension is subjected to high pressure and becomes an atomized dust that is the ideal consistency for subsequent production with a moisture level at approximately 0.5 percent.

Pressing and Surface Treatments

The atomized dust is loaded into a hopper and passed through sieves or filters to remove impurities and delivered to various dispensers, where some will be treated to provide specific surface effects. The material is then conveyed to new hydraulic presses with computer control units. State-of-the-art stainless-steel presses can exert pressures of up to 15,000 tons. This removes most of the air in the granules of the dust mix. Traditional dust presses use rams to compact dust contained in a mold or dies.

Finishing

Slabs are fired in natural-gas kilns with special gas burners to a temperature above 1,200 degrees Celsius. A quality check assures that finished slabs are perfectly flat, the right size, and have no internal stresses. The entire production process consumes less energy and releases fewer pollutants and less CO₂ into the atmosphere. A final quality exit check completes the firing sequence.

This process results in porcelain stoneware slabs that are then cut according to the required measurements. Gluing production lines add fiberglass underlayment backing systems that improve the tiles mechanical strength and provide additional bending and shock resistance. Cutting machinery snap-cuts tiles to the exact formats and a computerized digital-control grinder is used for those panels with fiberglass backing.

Finishing systems for the slabs employ computer silkscreen printers that can apply background dyes, a range of graphic designs, and protective surface glazes. Combined with a multi-head digital ink-jet printer operating as a plotter, repeated passes over the slab ensure high-resolution patterns or pictures. There is no limit to the graphic designs possible. This process is also used in smaller format ceramics.

Large-format thin porcelain tiles are a new material that is now being considered by architects around the world for both interior and exterior projects. The following case study provides an example of how Ziger/Snead Architects used large-format tiles to express their unique ecological vision at The Slate House.

Photo: © Jennifer Hughes Photography/Ziger/Snead Architects

High-performance ceramic tiles that can be used both inside and outside support the vision of the owners and architects in The Slate House, designed as a metaphor for healing, reflection, and relaxation.

Supporting Design When Details Count

The Slate House is surrounded by nature in a dense Maryland forest near Baltimore. The original ranch house was destroyed by fire, causing, as the architect, Douglas Bothner AIA, LEED AP partner at Ziger/Snead, describes “a physical, emotional, and ecological shift between owners, land, and surrounding ecology. Rising from the ashes of its predecessor, the design team set out to reconnect the site to the existing contextual environment. The home and gardens are designed as a metaphor for healing, reflection, and relaxation.” Large-format ceramic tiles were one of many key materials that the design team employed to express their vision.

Diminishing the line between interior and exterior environments was important to the design team. Slate wraps the exterior roof and walls, and charred wood caps the gable ends to evoke the memory of the former home. Large expanses of mahogany-framed window walls “maximize views of the surrounding forest, blurring interior and exterior spaces. Clean and direct geometries combine with natural materials of stone, wood, steel, and water to express rawness and simplicity,” according to Bothner. Simplifying material choices, he selected large, 4-by-4-foot ceramic tiles with properties that allowed them to be installed both on the inside of the house as well as the adjacent exterior patio. The mahogany sill and a small 2-inch step blur the line to the outdoors. Careful detailing supports the aesthetic intent.

Typically, a designer might choose bluestone outside and tile inside the house to achieve a similar effect, but this solution provided a seamless transition across the threshold by using the same material with different textures. Bothner reports that the firm selected a tile that exceeded minimums recommended by The Tile Council of North America (TCNA) and ANSI standards for both the interior and exterior surfaces. The specified tile exceeds DCOF 0.42, a standard that evaluates the traction of a surface or “coefficient of friction” under known conditions. For more information on this standard, TCNA provides additional resources and data on its website.⁵ The interior tile is smooth, and the exterior tile has been bush hammered to provide additional slip resistance.

Image: Ziger/Snead LLP Architects

Tile installation detail for The Slate House threshold. The interior tile is placed on a stiff floor surface designed to support the ceramic tile and a radiant floor surface. The exterior tiles are placed over an interior gallery below, and the detail shows the attention paid to moisture control and the prevention of thermal bridging.

Although identical ceramic products, each tile installation required different details. The exterior tiles are placed on a terrace over an interior gallery below. Both installations required that the wood floor trusses were designed to support a very stiff, flat, and stable flooring. Bothner reports, “Floor flatness and floor framing were designed to support the large-format ceramic tile and to reduce deflection, as tile has no strength in tension.”

There are numerous sustainable strategies employed in this super-insulated home. Another reason the architects chose ceramic flooring is because the owner wanted a radiant floor. So they specified a “warm board product,” a radiant subfloor system with a bond break and crack isolation membrane. The detail shows how this was incorporated into the flooring section. The tile edges are protected, both inside and outside, with metal floor profile edges. All windows and doors open for cross breezes in the summer to reduce the requirement for air conditioning.

A unique aspect of this installation is that the owner requested an alternative to mechanical air-supply registers in the flooring. The solution was to reinforce the floor tile at the register area with ¼-inch steel backing so the tile can span the width of the supply duct. A computer-controlled abrasive water-jet machine cut grooves into the reinforced ceramic tile to create a new ceramic supply register. The tiles were then tested for airflow before placement in the living areas.

Insulated, low-e glazed windows help reduce solar gain while allowing natural light to fill the spaces during the daytime and reduce energy loads. Bothner reports that the project exceeded the requirements of the 2012 International Energy Construction Code with an R-49 roof assembly, R-36 wall assembly, and windows with a 0.35 U-factor. Attention to detail, materials, and installation reinforce the visions of the owners and architects to transform this home in the woods.

Wellness: Antibacterial and Self-cleaning Surfaces

Microbes, bacteria, and fungi are microscopic forms of life that have both beneficial and destructive ability to impact human well-being. In the past five years, material scientists have been developing new products that prevent mold and inhibit bacterial growth in food areas and health-care facilities. According to the Center For Disease Control, on any given day, about one in 25 hospital patients has at least one health-care-associated infection. Addressing this crisis has led to new coatings on ceramic products. Antibacterial additives can be incorporated into ceramic glazing and cement-based products such as tile grout and paving tiles. Even though many ceramic tiles have a nonporous surface, providing an important benefit in keeping bacteria from penetrating surfaces, bacteria can still multiply and grow.

Some manufacturers are introducing silver ion coatings during the firing process to activate a protective shield that is not dependent on UV rays as a catalyst. The process does not alter or whiten the original color of the ceramic surface (unlike other technologies) and can be applied onto any color tiles and slabs, including darker shades. These new products are providing alternatives to flooring not only in residential and health-care settings but also in public spaces, airports, condominiums, shopping centers, and schools.

To substantiate the antimicrobial claims, manufacturers use independent laboratories that are highly specialized at carrying out the ISO 22196 standard for evaluating nonporous surfaces of products and the ASTM E3031-15 standard, which is specifically focused on the complex surfaces of glazing compositions on ceramic tile, particularly those that include silver additives. Antimicrobial additives can be effective against a range of bacteria, such as Escherichia Coli, Staphylococcus Aureus, and Klebsiella Pneumoniae. The active ingredients in the ceramic surface are always active and prevent the growth of bacteria. This interrupts the reproductive ability of the surface, keeping that surface cleaner for longer. Regular maintenance and cleaning should not include wax products, as they will create a film that can block the contact between the tile and bacteria. A few examples highlight the versatile applications of these innovative ceramics.

Photo: © Ballogg Photography/HDR Architecture

Antibacterial porcelain tile surrounds the labor and delivery birthing tub at the The Mother Baby Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Health Care

In Minnesota, HDR Architecture employed many sustainable strategies at The Mother Baby Center in St. Paul, designed by architect Julie Roberts. This innovative care center enables mothers, babies, and families to stay together and experience the highest level of coordinated care. Antibacterial tile is used in the dramatic entrance flooring as well as throughout the facility in the patient toilet rooms, floors, and walls. The tile also surrounds the labor and delivery birthing tub, providing concealed sterility in an area designed to be comforting.

Photo: © Nicolas Mathéus/Lea Ceramiche

This porcelain-clad bar is a sculpture composed of thin porcelain geometric panels.

Restaurants

Antibacterial ceramics were installed for floors, the bar surfaces, and even part of the wall as large slab “wallpaper” in three dining areas at Les Dune. This new technological center of the Société Générale in Val de Fontenay in the eastern suburbs of Paris is a complex of offices distributed over five buildings that will eventually be able to accommodate up to 5,000 employees. Starting from the impressive size of the spaces, the challenge for Patrick Norguet, a French architect and designer, was to combine and manage the flow of so many people to create an atmosphere of sociability, intimacy, and comfort during meals.

The restaurant surfaces ensure an environment that is healthier, safer, and easy to maintain. The ceramic walls were customized through the use of digital printing on laminated porcelain stoneware. The porcelain-clad bar is a sculpture composed of thin porcelain geometric panels. The slabs are only 3 millimeters (¹⁄₈ inch) thick with irregular slices, covering the entire surface of the volumetric shape. The large expanse of the flooring product features a play of horizontal lines that interact with light and furniture, giving vibration and personality to the surface in a three-dimensional wave pattern. In addition to meeting aesthetic criteria, this sustainable installation has numerous sustainable material benefits.

Photo courtesy of Studio Libeskind

A self-cleaning, three-dimensional fractal surface was custom designed and placed across the facade of this Berlin residential complex designed by Studio Libeskind.

Exterior Maintenance: Self-Cleaning Surfaces

Material scientists have also developed coatings for exterior porcelain panels. A new residential complex in the heart of Berlin is clad in three-dimensional, geometric-patterned porcelain stoneware that is not only beautiful but also has a surprising impact on air quality and maintenance. Designed by Studio Libeskind, the tiles cover the surface with a technological advancement designed to self-clean and aid in air purification. Around 3,600 pieces of tile were used for the facade, with the majority of tiles custom cut using linear and water-jet cutting machinery. The three-dimensional surface is custom designed to flow across the varous sides of the facade. The continuous surface extends to the inside of balcony walls to express the continuity of the design. The semi-reflective charcoal facade changes and glows according to different times of the day and weather conditions, adding to the streetscape atmospheric experience.

The porcelain panels are manufactured with a titanium dioxide coating that when exposed to UV rays create a hydrophobic surface, one that repels water. A chemical and biological reaction breaks down organic substances and pollutants on the porcelain panel’s surface. Therefore, rainwater becomes more effective in washing away dirt and stains, reducing necessary maintenance.

Installation Makes a Difference

Design professionals have been accused of “falling in love” with new products. It is true that the lure of new finishes, textures, and sustainability attributes can be hard to resist. With the advent of new products comes the learning curve of how to adjust to new material attributes and installation requirements. A well-trained team that works together is the main ingredient of a successful building project. The design professional ensures that the chosen finishes are consistent with the goals of the project, the client’s vision, and the program and then specifies the choice of tiles, panels, adhesive or mortar installations, grout, layout, joint pattern, and the slope of the surface. The tile contractor is responsible for installation and the quality of the materials to be used as well as the conditions of the substrate. Integrated teams work together to assure that materials, schedules, and budgets are coordinated. The manufacturer works with the entire team. They will often provide engineering support as needed, particularly for large-formant porcelain panels.

Installation advances in ceramics include new tile grouts, mortars, and substrates. There is even new ceramic plank flooring that can be installed over any substrate with a liner and plastic connectors to secure the flooring.

Exterior and interior porcelain tiles and panels are more resistant and less subject to change over time than cement or natural stone paving slabs. They are acid, frost, and salt proof with moisture absorption of less than 0.5 percent. Mold-, moss-, and pest-resistant durable outdoor ceramics provide new surface textures and designs for decks, pools, patios, and terraces. Exterior outdoor paving tiles, as thin as 20 millimeters (³⁄₄ inch) thick, can be dry laid directly onto the laying bed—the most common being grass, gravel, or sand—in conjunction with a support or on a level screed, such as concrete, with adhesive.

According to Bettiga, the National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA), along with ceramic tile and installation material manufacturers, recognized that there was a need for new standards for these new ceramic products. They defined the size of large-format tiles to be a minimum of 1-square-meter (3-square-foot) tiles/panels/slabs. In 2017, ANSI A137.3 and A108.19 standards were developed to address installation and material qualities of these relatively new products. In addition, NTCA collaborated with the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation, the Tile Contractors Association of America, the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, and manufacturers in the United States and developed an advanced certification for tile installers. Bettiga recommends that specifiers require that projects use certified installers or can demonstrate successful installations in past projects. The language in these standards and certification often uses the terms “gauged” porcelain tile/panels/slabs that is also referred to as “thin porcelain.”

As discussed in the Slate House example, it is important to design for the stiffness of the substrate when using large-format tiles. According to the standards, floor systems, including the framing system and subfloor panels upon which tiles shall be placed, shall be in conformance with the International Residential Code (IRC) for residential applications, International Building Code (IBC) for commercial applications, or other applicable building codes. Additionally, wood-framed floor systems over which gauged porcelain tile or gauged porcelain tiles/panels/slabs will be installed shall be in conformance with TCNA Handbook methods F250 Stone, F141 Stone, or RH141Stone. All specifiers should consult tile and setting material manufacturer for their specific recommendations.

Not only substrate but also the grout and backing that is used can make a difference. The next generation of ceramic flooring includes ceramic tiles on flexible, lightweight, load-bearing, fabric-reinforced, “peel-and-stick,” sound-reducing, and crack-isolation membranes made from recycled materials. These systems exceed ANSI A118.13 and ANSI A118.12. These systems are being used in hotels and condominium interiors as well as restaurants to assist with acoustic strategies.

Photo: © Michael P. Johnson Design Studio

The Wilkinson Office and Warehouse Building in Phoenix demonstrate the potential for designers to renovate existing buildings with ventilated facades that save energy.

Sustainability and Energy Savings

Energy savings can also be obtained by the use of porcelain cladding in ventilated wall facades as seen in the Wilkinson Office and Warehouse renovation in Phoenix. An engineering division is usually part of a manufacturer for exterior porcelain large-format cladding. For this large-scale installation, the design firm partnered with the tile manufacturing engineering division to assist with the design of a ventilated screen that cut energy demands for heating and cooling this building. The continuous mirrored surface porcelain facade is fitted using a system of exposed hooks. This screen, composed of 60-by-60-centimeter (2-by-2-foot) panels demonstrates the versatility of using a lightweight large-format porcelain panel with a digitally imprinted, energy-efficient mirrored surface.

In hot weather, the coating system reduces the thermal load on the building due to the partial reflection of the solar radiation incident on the cladding, the ventilation that develops in the air space (“chimney effect”), and the presence of the continuous insulation outside the wall. In cold weather, the ventilated facade helps to retain the heat inside the rooms, thanks to the engineered closures of the openings at the base and at the top so that the layer of air present inside the cavity acts as further insulation. Laying the insulating panels continuously allows the elimination of thermal bridges and prevents the formation of condensation and mold. This engineered facade results in considerable energy savings.

Photo courtesy of Ardogres

Ceramic slate roof tiles are formed by the assembly of multiple modules, converting sunlight into electric power.

Future Advances

After 25 years, the advances in the ceramics industry continue to grow as material scientists explore new technologies and digital advances. Rapidly evolving technology is creating ceramics that are “functionalized.” This engineering movement includes scientists with expertise in microelectronics, telecommunication, optics, biotechnology, energy, the environment, and health. New applications for ceramics include photo-catalytic panels, antibacterial surface, panels capable of eliminating atmospheric pollutants, and panels for the visually impaired.

Photovoltaic tiles formed by the assembly of multiple modules converting sunlight into electric power are fully integrated into ceramic slate roof systems. Examples of antibacterial and self-cleaning surfaces are already part of urban facades and the hospitality portfolio. Manipulating earth and fire, digital imprinting, and high fire compression, humans continue to expand the use of a material that is strong, enduring, and sustainable.

Acknowledgment

Cover Image: Fractile by Casalgrande Padana

End notes

¹"Environmental Product Declaration." Italian Ceramic Tiles – Confindustria Ceramica. 26 Sept. 2016. Web. 2 October, 2018.

²Ferrari, A.M. et al. "Comparative LCA analyses of different types of flooring materials." Confindustria Ceramica. 28 Nov. 2013. Web. 15 Sept. 2018.

³"EN15801—2012 Sustainability of construction works, Environmental product declarations, Core rules for the product category of construction products." European Standard. Web. 15 Sept. 2018.

⁴Production Process. LEA Ceramiche. Web. 2 Oct. 2018.

⁵"TCNA Technical Bulletin: Coefficient of Friction and the DCOF AcuTest." 2013. Web. 15 Sept. 2018.

Celeste Allen Novak is an architect and author whose Michigan practice focuses on sustainable and universal design. www.linkedin.com/in/celestenovak