There was stone, and wood, and marble, and porcelain, and tiles. This is how it used to be, each clearly defined and recognisable. Then came technology and mixed it all up. In the process, ceramics has entered the realms of many other materials, solving problems of scarcity for some while also providing a multitude of practical solutions and a flurry of new creative possibilities.

To be fair, ceramics have had many a multitude of applications for a very long time now. Porcelain is a fine example of such an age-old ceramic material, and one that has been the mainstay of tableware, vases, and decorative pieces for thousands of years, and continues to be so to this day. Porcelain has made fortunes, raised empires, and defined them, with it nowadays being used for more than household items alone. Ceramic tiles have long since been a centrepiece of floor, kitchen, and bathroom tiling. They are applied in hospitals, laboratories, factories that require sanitary conditions, and can also provide cladding for modern buildings – usually office blocks – or large renovated ones.

Fired to very high temperatures, they provide a very high degree of impermeability that makes them not only very practical and easy to clean, but also resistant to the formation of bacteria on ceramic surfaces, which makes such tiles ideal for areas where hygiene and sterility are important. Of course, we’ve also been using porcelain bath tubs, toilets, bidets, wash basins and kitchen sinks, watches, synthetic gems, even dentures, for a long time, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Modern Age Ceramics

Think of the kind of rockets that send things into space and you’re probably imaging some form of high-tech metal alloy. You would not be wrong, but there are also rocket thrusters made from varieties of high-tech ceramics. In reality, ceramic is one of the hardiest and most versatile materials known to mankind, used in anything from the more commonly known stoneware to a vast array of industrial, scientific, medical, military, and even space or sports applications. It shares a lot of characteristics with glass, and as a result is low in porosity, high in impermeability, and has very specific acoustic and conductive qualities. For this reason, it is used in thermal and electrical insulators, as well as high-temperature superconductors.

There is ceramic-based glassware, ceramic bricks, knives with razor-sharp ceramic blades, and even sharper cutting blades used in industry. Yes, we’ve come a long way since we first began to craft pottery and corded ware items. Firing such products made them harder and more durable, followed by a whole industry dedicated to glazing, and now ceramics are at the heart of modern materials development technology. Scientists are finding ever more advanced ways of taking ceramics into a whole new universe of possibilities. Many of these find their way into construction, where ceramics have always played an important role, but never more than they do today.

Ceramics Coming Home

If this noble material was first associated with the home and has gone around the world finding its way into industry, medicine and scientific research, then much of it is coming back home, into the house environment, as many of the recent developments in this field have been construction oriented. Apart from sanitary ware, kitchens, floor tiles, and the aforementioned bricks, there are also ceramic rooftiles, pipes, insulation materials, and a whole array of decorative materials that you thought were made of stone, wood, brick or marble. In fact, you almost certainly thought they actually were stone, wood, brick or marble, but you see, today all of the above can look and feel like the original but may actually be… ceramic.

Ceramic creativity has flowered to the point where the choice of floor, wall, bathroom, kitchen, and decorative tiling has taken on new dimensions. It can encompass art, emulate wood and stone, not to mention marble, and is generally more flexible, readily available and affordable. The level of design, textures, and possibilities defies the imagination, and while Spain is the largest producer of ceramics in the world – with the global hub situated in the town of Villarreal north of Valencia – Italy is of course also an important source of design and innovation. Perhaps it is for these reasons that the industry gathers each September at the International Exhibition of Ceramic tile and Bathrooms furnishings – CERSAIE – in Bologna, a veritable world of ceramics.