Clay SpacesMangalore, South Canara India

Brief Background to the Tile Industry

In 1865 a Swiss/German Protestant Missionary group began making clay roof tiles in South India. This was the start of an industry that would produce Mangalore tiles, whose ubiquity contrasted with their modest city of origin. Between 1865-1905 the Basel Mission established seven tile facto-ries in the South Canara and Malabar regions, inspiring the mushrooming of hundreds of compet-ing factories.

The key centre of both Missionary and Industrial activity for the mission was Mangalore, a port city on the Malabar coast. This choice of locale has roots in the ground: the high quality of clay deposits triggered experiments with tile-making to support missionary activities and create an occupation for new converts, who were often left placeless in society after abandoning their caste and being disowned by family. Strength of resource coincided with a limited receptiveness to Christianity and the development of a printing press to disseminate the message of the mission in local languages, cementing Mangalore as a fertile ground for Basel Mission activity.

The remaining tile factories are testament to a declining industry and a deteriorating set of build-ings. Only three of the seven Basel Mission tile factories remain intact. Of these and the remaining competing factories only a fraction are functioning at a limited capacity to produce tiles, whilst oth-ers are leased for other trades or left to decay. The original factory at Jeppu (established 1865) is one of the few remaining Basel Mission Tile factories.

Opportunity for (re-)invention

We are looking for inventive ways to repurpose the remaining buildings and clay. The broader chal-lenge includes proposing new uses for the versatile historic structures and the quality clay. The current management of the remaining factories are keen to diversify the industry by introducing new affordable products to the South Indian market that are specific to climatic conditions. This may involve designing anything from construction products, building systems to furniture, home-ware, ceramics or even part of buildings, and will begin with a specific assignment to develop prod-ucts to build new structures.

The project is envisaged as an on-going research/design and build collaboration with design, hands-on construction, manufacturing and fabrication to be developed over a number of years. This may be in the form of an annual workshop.

The Collaborative Workshop: Terracotta Products to Spaces of production

This workshop proposes to reactivate the factory spaces through initiating architectural experi-mentation with clay. By introducing students to the factories, the history and evolution of the indus-try and the clay processes involved in producing a range of terracotta products, the workshop will lay the foundation for hands-on exploration. Students will have the opportunity to test architectural ideas through clay processes, all within the historic environment of the first Indian Mangalore Tile Factory (establish 1868).

We intend to start by casting from existing historic moulds from the tile factory and move on to open up the ‘environments’ of production as testing grounds for designing new products capable of transforming spaces. This may result in the construction of a live intervention or in repetitive prod-ucts, units or building systems in clay. Students are encouraged to think through making, building confidence in their ability to think with their hands. Above all, the intention is to cultivate the joy and rigour of making.

Benefits and Outcomes of the collaboration

The outcome of the collaboration can be seen to take shape in terms of summer/winter schools , work-shops or long-term researcher involvement, benefits include: •Gaining knowledge of and working/living within some of the most significant industrial architectural heritage on the subcontinent•Acquiring in-depth knowledge of the history, evolution and manufacturing processes of Mangalore tiles (and associated terracotta products), one of the most prolific roofing and building elements produced in India•Hands-on experimentation with clay processes to expand spatial and material understanding through making, potentially resulting in a 1:1 construction•Learning the rigour of creating habitable environments within historic industrial fabric•Opperating with the real constrainsts of material and resources on the Indian context•Collaborating with key professionals and experts in the fields of clay construciton, histroric Indian Industrial arcitecutre and terracotta manufacturing•Increased confidence in moving from spatial concepts to robust constructions

Facilities and Resources Available

Wood workshop and dry working areaWood or modelling toolsWet Working AreaCeramic KilnClay pug mill , clay extruder , clay cast press Hoffman kiln , tunnel kiln(1100 degree centigrade)A mechanical and fabrication workshop Accommodation within the historic factory bungalow

The factory has the facilities to cast, extrude, compress and fire anything that one can possibly imagine in clay. This might be kitchenware to building blocks and even parts of buildings.

Contact

Arijit CHATTERJEE (India)B.Arch -FA , CEPT AhmedabadM.Arch -e(ad),PUCV , Valparaiso,Chileurbanchaosandme@gmail.com +91 9108297642 Asha SUMRA(UK & India) M.Arch -e(ad),PUCV , Valparaiso,ChileMA CANTAB , University of Cambridge asha.sumra17@gmail.com+91 9148852645