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Beyond architectural choice. The design significance of ceramic tiles | by Alfonso Femia

Article published in: "The intelligence of ceramics"

(March 2025) | Architects choose materials based on multiple considerations, from historical context and local craftsmanship to cultural traditions, creativity, experimentation and technology. Contemporary material choices draw upon cutting-edge innovation, future possibilities, individual sensibility, artistic flair, economic factors, industrial creativity and the regulatory framework governing their customised application.

Material is craftsmanship. Craftsmanship speaks of place, history and belonging. Without dedicated research into materials and their role in shaping our built environment, we risk losing craftsmanship itself -and with it, our connections to places, artisans, history and collective identity. Ultimately, we risk losing ourselves.

Our research into ceramics carefully combines material analysis, technical and economic factors, and installation methods, bridging artisanal skill and industrial production. Atelier(s) has earned a unique reputation for this balanced and creative mediation.

Rather than pursuing exceptional or disposable customisation, our research focuses on dialogue with manufacturers, fostering innovation and evolution by transforming standard products into meaningful artistic and industrial expressions.

 

 

The social significance of ceramic tiles

Beyond architectural considerations, ceramic tiles have an important design-led role, one that inspired me to adopt them as a defining element of my work. They elegantly unite noble and everyday aesthetics, art and craft, beauty and even imperfections – as exemplified by the clinker-covered façades of many Italian buildings from the 1970s, now regarded as incongruous features in contemporary urban settings.

Many materials can adapt to varied, even contradictory aesthetics, but ceramic tiles uniquely amplify their expressive potential. They are materials loaded with historical references to past masters, yet simultaneously weighed down by careless applications still evident in modern cities.

Nonetheless, ceramic tiles are thrilling to use. They demand a deep commitment to the public value inherent in each project, independent of the client or intended function, and they contribute meaningfully to buildings that represent both architecture and urban transformation.

Ceramic tiles must respond sensitively to contemporary design requirements. Rather than awaiting an elusive “paradigm shift”, it is time to embrace a fresh model of cultural infrastructure explicitly dedicated to community well-being and quality of life. Such change is not guaranteed; it requires architecture to reclaim the social and political roles that have been gradually eroded in recent decades.

 

 

A material of communication

The urban and social meaning of ceramic tiles is articulated through their relationship with space and light. Sequences of horizontal and vertical elements, tensions between compression and openness, directly shape the sensory experience of a building. Thoughtfully controlling and balancing space and light fosters meaningful connections between places and people – whether the residents themselves or passers-by encountering the building.

Architecture intertwines with nature: the colours of buildings blend harmoniously with the sky, influencing each other to create distinctive palettes that form comforting, inviting urban fabrics, far removed from excessive forms or superficial materiality.

In short, ceramic tiles renew the essential dialogue between materiality and architecture.

 

 

The intelligence of ceramics

In my practice, I have identified five types of “intelligence” inherent in ceramic tiles, sometimes appearing simultaneously, sometimes individually. But I believe many more nuances and subtleties exist. Ceramics possess a natural capacity to communicate, narrating the story of a building by reclaiming their material essence and poetic value—an approach I call “thinking through materials”.

With ceramics, the relationship is never merely between material and architecture; the urban scale always serves as the primary reference. Between what is imagined and what is achievable lies the emotional dimension of ceramics, with their extraordinary ability to absorb and reflect light. Depending on the context, ceramic surfaces act as descriptive elements, either contrasting with or accentuating architectural compositions. Their transformation from two-dimensional surfaces into three-dimensional forms enhances their plasticity, harmonising opposites: compact yet fragmented, glossy yet matt, solid yet permeable.

Ceramic tiles are a luminous, precious presence that complements wood and plaster, creating balanced narratives of materials and colour, scale and geometry. Moreover, they naturally maintain thermal equilibrium without relying on artificial or technological interventions. Resilient and stable, ceramics withstand temperature fluctuations and pollutants, comfortably integrating with environmental and energy systems.

Finally, ceramics significantly enhance surface quality, acting as sensitive, expressive skins. Through close collaboration between artisans, architects and engineers during the design process, opportunities emerge for fresh insights and broader expertise, expanding the boundaries of performance, geometry, versatility and design language.

 

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Alfonso Femia Architectures discusses the above topics in greater depth in a book entitled L’intelligenza della ceramica (The Intelligence of ceramic tiles), published by Marsilio Editore, 2024.
The book presentation will take place on Wednesday 9 April at 6 pm at the Creative Centre Casalgrande Padana, Piazza San Marco 1 in Milan.