This book chronicles experimental approaches to the design and production of architectural terra cotta facades and structures. Under the auspices of the Architectural Ceramic Assemblies Workshop (ACAW), a research collaborative supported by Boston Valley Terra Cotta, the largest manufacturer of architectural terra cotta in the United States, architectural firms work with manufacturing to explore material and design innovation. Now in its fifth year, the workshop aims to educate architects about terra cotta through the production of unique prototypes of rain screen facade systems, modular assemblies, columns, and structural systems.

Architectural Ceramic Assemblies Workshop V chronicles the work of architectural firms Kohn Pederson Fox (KPF), LMN Architects, Smith + Gill Architecture, Pelli Clarke Pelli, Perkins and Will, PLP Architecture, Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM), Studio Gang, and academic teams Haptek Lab and Alfred University/University at Buffalo.