ABSTRACT
In the Shaanxi Province of China, beginning as early as 221 bce, thousands of life-sized soldiers were produced using interchangeable, previously formed body parts. The Terra Cotta Army is a vast array of individual outcomes resulting from a highly organized system of production. From these beginnings, the inherently molded and modular nature of terra cotta has allowed it to provide intelligent variations that fulfill particular needs of a client while retaining the efficiencies of mass production. Terra cotta is ideally suited to the strategies embodied in the contemporary concept of mass customization. This chapter traces these strategies from interchangeable ornament in Coade Stone through the catalogue of “made to stock” parts from Gladding McBean terra cotta company. The extrusion of clay makes an infinite array of profiles accessible by customizing only the die. The universal, open rainscreen joint allows a variety of otherwise standard parts to be mixed and matched for a unique, overall wall layout. Digital design and process control tools bring new economies of production to the broad universe of forms that can be realized in clay.
