Design residency at Royal Tichelaar 2022

scale up renewable ceramics Sea silt ceramics made from sea silt by Humade

Renewable Sea silt ceramics made from sea silt by Humade

Since 2020, Studio Humade has been investigating the applicability of dredged salted sea sludge to create more sustainable ceramic processes. In 2022 at Koninklijke Tichelaar, Humade has been developing the scalability of this renewable material within their production processes.

Sea silt clay ripening plant

The Dutch north coast is struggling with a silt surplus. The Eems Dollard is silting up, threatening biodiversity and the accessibility of ports. At the same time the sea level is rising while the land behind the dikes is subsiding requiring material levelling of the land. At project Pilot Kleirijperij the surplus silt is matured on land and used to counter soil scarcity. As building materials are rapidly becoming scarce, there is a demand for more diverse applications of this continuous residual flow.

Sea silt as renewable Sea silt ceramics clay body 

In the project 'Linking elements' Humade has succeeded in developing a multitude of usable recipes across different production techniques. By focusing on the elasticity of the material, new solutions are created. The ambition to use as much local raw materials and waste streams as possible resulted in a production process with a minimum of two-thirds sludge.

The material provides a beautiful palette of colours, a lower firing temperature and can sinter itself, making an extra glaze firing unnecessary and resulting in a reduction of emissions.

Contact us and let’s build a greener future together.