A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Development of Thermal Clay Modules

This study focuses on the idea that industrial production methods combined with a craft-based approach enable the production of distinctive expressive thermal functionalities. In the study, we develop extruded modules based on a hands-on explorative craft approach in parallel with virtual simulations to explore how heat and cold are transported dynamically through building modules. This paper aims to discuss the developed method and process in a multidisciplinary approach that combines the quality of craft-based practice with the skills of architecture, engineering and programming, focusing on how craft practitioners facilitate the importance of experimentation with material, technique and aesthetics in such a multidisciplinary approach. In the study, immediate concrete design proposals demonstrate a helpful way of establishing common ground for multidisciplinary collaboration. Concrete design proposals are pivotal for addressing the suggested design's advantages and disadvantages and clarifying the differences and potentials between the specialisations in question. Based on the immediate design proposals, it was clear how the craftsperson's previous experiences within crafts practice quickly identified realisable solutions based on experimental setups and aesthetic solutions and, at the same time, was able to foresee possible complications.