ADDITIVE ARCHITECTURE: RETHINKING FAÇADE DESIGN THROUGH 3D-PRINTED CERAMICS TOWARD CIRCULAR CONSTRUCTION MODELS

The contribution examines the architectural and performance potential of ceramic components for building envelopes manufactured through additive manufacturing (AM), framing digital fabrication as a lever for complex geometries, integrated functions, and mass customisation, in coherence with DfAM/DfMA principles, design for disassembly, and life-cycle assessment. The aim is twofold: to reconstruct the state of the art of technologies and ceramic feedstocks for 3D printing, and to assess how generative design can drive the transition towards circular and regenerative construction models, identifying configurations effective in thermo-optical control, ventilation, and water management. The methodology combines a systematic literature review with a reconnaissance of 329 international projects, from which 25 case studies were extracted. The results highlight the prevalence of cladding and brise-soleil applications, hollow morphologies, and prototypal solutions for evaporative cooling, active façades, and bio-receptive systems. The principal criticality concerns the limited availability of standardised performance data. Overall, ceramic additive manufacturing exhibits growing maturity for adaptive and circular envelopes.