Daniel Libeskind?s installation at the Milan Expo used iridescent tiles from Casalgrande Padana.
TEXT Andrew Jones
Visiting Cersaie provides a zeitgeist survey of the world?s ceramic products. This year there were 872 exhibitors representing 39 countries, and more than 100,000 visitors. Wares ranged from a seemingly endless variety of tiles and bathroom furnishings to tools and equipment for the tiling trade. Cersaie seemed to propose that the world could be made anew in ceramic, whether practical or luxurious?and, after a few days of exploring the show?s offerings, I learned that ceramics, with all their many advantages, can be used for virtually every building surface. Furthermore, ceramics continue to evolve into high-tech materials that go beyond the expected. One of the exciting technical innovations in ceramics is the production of extra-large and wafer-thin panels. Sizes reach 1.6 m x 3.2 m, with thicknesses as little as 3 mm. Large thin panels are easy to handle and cut compared with conventional porcelain, are perfectly flat, and can be installed over existing surfaces without the need for demolition. Thin panels have outstanding green credentials thanks to their limited use of raw materials, energy resources and water. Large panels are made using an industrial manufacturing process that employs a meticulously selected blend of clays, rocks, feldspars and pigments, which are pressed under very high load on a continuous belt and are then fired at a temperature of mo...