SP-Arte 2025

The Tradition of the Future: Superlimão 3D Prints Clay and Transforms Design with Technology and Ancestry Even before becoming a structural element in architecture, clay was already used to create utilitarian objects and artistic expressions, shaping the material culture of diverse civilizations. Despite its long history, this material still holds unexplored possibilities. How can we rethink its use without losing its essence? In the experiment Superlimão presents at SP–Arte 2025, clay gains a new perspective when molded by a 3D printer, uniting the digital and the artisanal in a process that challenges the conventional logic of ceramics. This was the starting point for the research Superlimão presents at SP–Arte 2025: a project that redefines the use of ceramics through 3D printing. The firm, which has as one of its pillars the fusion of digital and analog, has developed a process that manipulates machine code programming to create organic surfaces and textures in clay. Unlike what's expected from conventional 3D printing—which, for the most part, is constructed vertically—this approach allows for the exploration of new volumes and structures. But, as much as technology controls the initial parameters, the material prevails over the technology. Air humidity, drying time, the clay's natural shrinkage, and firing temperature variations influence the final result. No two pieces are the same. "We work with a material that, even after printing, continues to transform. Even though the process has a technical aspect, it always has a human, artisanal element," comments Diogo Matsui, design coordinator at Superlimão. The study also connects with the fabrics developed by Ecosimple, produced from recycled textile waste. These materials will be used at Superlimão's booth at SP-Arte and in an intervention at the entrance to the pavilion, both designed by the firm. Like the clay pieces, the fabrics follow a graphic logic that intertwines past and future through materiality. In both cases, the construction takes place in layers and weaves, where each thread or fillet of clay finds its unique place. The public will be able to follow not only the creative process through TCL monitors, but also the live production and printing of the pieces, which will be on display at the Superlimão booth. The research presented at SP–Arte is not limited to a technical experiment. It questions how design can reinterpret traditional knowledge without losing its essence. And, above all, how technology can learn from its ancestors, and not simply replace or automate what came before.