August 2021 - The Permasteelisa Group participated in the sixth Architectural Ceramic Assemblies Workshop (ACAW), virtually held on 19 August 2021. ACAW is an industry-academic collaborative workshop hosted by Boston Valley Terra Cotta, with Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture and the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning. The workshop aims to encourage the use of terra cotta early in the architect’s design process.

HOK, TriPyramid, and Permasteelisa Group – through its subsidiaries Permasteelisa North America and Josef Gartner – teamed up together to design a Structural Terra Cotta mullion, giving shape to the vision of Architect John Neary from HOK, that could lend the sculptural depth of stone and high thermal performance to a modern façade. With increasing demands for improved energy performance and reduced embodied carbon in building enclosures, seeking alternatives to conventional aluminum-framed curtain wall is urgent. Permasteelisa Group developed the bespoke curtain wall system and assembled the mock-up - 5.2 m / 17’ high by 3.7 m / 12’ wide - from components made by Boston Valley and TriPyramid. The mock-up shows the true aesthetic and technical potential of the Structural Terra Cotta Façade concept. The outcome of the strict collaboration with the architect and the other players to bring innovation to the curtain wall industry with a technology able to provide sustainable solutions and offer unique aesthetic results.

Guided by terra cotta manufacturers and ceramicists, a total of eight teams of architects, façade engineers, and educators worked together over the course of the workshop to share knowledge and gain experience developing terra cotta wall assemblies.