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Parian Fam
By Studio Furthermore, UK

 

This London based design practice works with a craft-centric production methods informed by innovations in technology, science and culture. Ceramic foams are used for advanced applications like heat shield cladding for NASA space shuttles. The designers have emulated them here through a craft scaled polymer process. Parian, a type of porcelain, resembles marble from the Aegean island of Paros to which it owes its name. The ultra-fine nature of the parian makes for a particularly fluid slip, well suited to impregnating foam. Due to its high feldspar content, it vitrifies into a smooth, self-glazing material which, when fired, results in a remarkably strong and light weight material.