Nadirah’s 3D-printed ceramics explore the tension between ancient clay and digital precision

What happens when an ancient material meets the precision of digital fabrication? For Nadirah, the ceramic and collectible-object practice founded by architect and designer Ann Sankey, the answer lies in the space between control and chance. Working with 3D-printed clay across stoneware, terracotta, and porcelain, Ann leaves the telltale layers of the process visible, allowing texture, geometry and material behaviour to shape each piece. From sculptural vessels to ceramic lighting, Nadirah treats technology not as an end, but as another way of making.

How Does 3D Printing Change the Way Clay Is Used?

Ann Sankey, founder and designer of Nava Design Labs, says Nadirah began with a curiosity about what happens when an ancient, tactile material like clay is brought into conversation with a highly precise digital process. “I was interested in that tension from the very beginning and in exploring what could emerge when the language of ceramics meets the possibilities of digital fabrication. 3D printing offered us a new way to approach geometry, repetition, and controlled variation. At the same time, clay has a character of its own. It moves, shrinks, compresses, and responds to the making process in ways that cannot always be completely predetermined. That relationship between precision and material behaviour gradually became central to the identity of Nadirah,” she explains.

What began as an exploration of form has since developed into a much broader investigation into process, material behaviour and the relationship between machine-making and hand-making.

For Ann, the most interesting aspect of 3D printing is not simply its ability to create complex forms, but the way it allows her to think about an object almost layer by layer. “It gives us the ability to manipulate rhythm, density, texture and movement with a high degree of precision and to explore geometries that would be extremely difficult to reproduce consistently through traditional methods,” she says. Ann does not see 3D printing as a replacement for traditional ceramic processes. Instead, she sees it as opening up another set of possibilities.

So, does the character of stoneware, terracotta and porcelain influence the forms she creates? “Each material has its own personality, and that often influences the direction of a form right from the beginning. Terracotta feels very grounded and architectural to me. It has a warmth and earthiness that allows forms to feel sculptural without becoming overly precious. Stoneware is incredibly versatile and gives us greater freedom to explore scale, texture and glaze experimentation. Porcelain is very different. It has a delicate, almost luminous quality, particularly when it becomes thin enough for light to pass through it. Because the material itself has such a strong presence, it often leads us towards more restrained forms,” says Ann, for whom the material often influences the geometry, proportions and character of the object from the very beginning.

It is the translucency of porcelain that drew her to exploring it for lighting. “I was interested in creating lighting where the ceramic is not merely decorative but actively shapes the quality, intensity and character of the light,” she says.

Much of her current experimentation is focused on creating greater variation within the printed surface itself. “We are exploring textures that move in and out of the form rather than simply sitting on its surface, as well as selective glazing on raised and recessed areas so that the geometry becomes more pronounced after firing. We are also experimenting with combining 3D-printed ceramics with materials such as wood and metal. With porcelain, we are continuing to explore translucency, thickness, and the way light moves across different printed textures, particularly how these qualities can alter the perception of an object once it is illuminated,” she adds.

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