the making of: avolution avocados by C4

‘avolution’ avocado ceramic dishes, amidst other works by c4 design studio image © designboom

created by C4, the team of austrian creative director christiane büssgen and mexican designer 4lonso (jesús alonso), ‘avolution’ is a series of porcelain bowls that translates the form of an avocado to a permanent piece of dishware. the product was borne out of the team’s interest in texture and natural materials, as well as the ubiquity and importance of avocados in mexican culture and cuisine.

the avocado bowls are cast from a two-part mold formed from a real avocado. the designers utilize the smooth varietal of the fruit to create a brown model, whose exterior is left raw and interior is glazed; as well as the rougher hass species, used primarily to make white porcelain dishes.

here, C4 gives designboom an inside look at the creation of the ‘avolution’ pieces. a two-part mold, originally cast from a real avocado half, is filled with liquid porcelain and left with the top off for 15 minutes. at this point, all remaining liquid is drained, leaving a shell-like form. after letting the piece dry for 40 minutes, the designers remove the top stratum of the mold and cut away the additional material along the piece’s top, molding the edges as they remove the avocado from the mold.

each piece is glazed by hand in brown, white, or a specialty colour glaze, and fired for 14 hours.

full view image © designboom

additional view

pieces from across c4’s collections

concept sketch

pouring the ceramic into a mold, which is formed from an actual avocado

a filled mold

the result of the first cast includes additional material along the top of the ‘shell’

the designers remove the top stratum of the mold…

… and cut away the additional clay

an avocado is set next to a cast ‘avolution’ piece

a completed ceramic, ready for finishing