Glazed ceramics are used in architecture since at least the 6th century BC, as the magnificent Ishtar Gate, partially reconstructed in the Berlin Pergamon Museum, testifies. Glazed tiles decorated with intricate geometric patterns and Arabic writing were for centuries, and still are, in widespread use in the Islamic countries and for westerners remain one of the most recognizable and constant marks of the beauty of mosques. From their origin in the Middle East and flourishing in the Islamic world, glazed tiles spread to Spain and Portugal, to Italy, the Low Countries and most of Europe. Modern majolica was perfected in Italy during the 15th century and saw an early architectural integration in the works of Luca Della Robbia. A representative work is the vault of the Capilla del Cardinal del Portugallo in the church of San Miniato al Monte (Florence) where the tondi protrude from a covering of patterned glazed tiles, curiously of the same pattern as later used in façade glazed tiles manufactured in Lisbon in the 19th century.

Argument

Glazed ceramics are used in architecture since at least the 6th century BC, as the magnificent Ishtar Gate, partially reconstructed in the Berlin Pergamon Museum, testifies. Glazed tiles decorated with intricate geometric patterns and Arabic writing were for centuries, and still are, in widespread use in the Islamic countries and for westerners remain one of the most recognizable and constant marks of the beauty of mosques. From their origin in the Middle East and flourishing in the Islamic world, glazed tiles spread to Spain and Portugal, to Italy, the Low Countries and most of Europe. Modern majolica was perfected in Italy during the 15th century and saw an early architectural integration in the works of Luca Della Robbia. A representative work is the vault of the Capilla del Cardinal del Portugallo in the church of San Miniato al Monte (Florence) where the tondi protrude from a covering of patterned glazed tiles, curiously of the same pattern as later used in façade glazed tiles manufactured in Lisbon in the 19th century. Tondi by the Della Robbia and other artists were also used to decorate façades, as testify the cases of the Spedale degli Innocenti in Florence, the magnificent early 16th century portal to the church of the Convento Santa Paula in Seville and the façade of the Madre de Deus monastery in Lisbon (today the National Azulejo Museum of Portugal) where Della Robbia tondi were set on to the façade around 1515. Glazed ceramic tiles are used as decorative panels or as finishes of whole walls and façades in several countries, such as Portugal, where they started being produced during the Renaissance and developed as a preferred means of finishing architectural surfaces, becoming ubiquitous in palaces, churches, gardens and bourgeois houses.

Under the influence of Chinese porcelain and Dutch productions in the famous Delft Blue, cobalt blue painting over a white tin glaze eventually became prevalent and inextricably associated with the baroque architecture of both Portugal and Brazil.During the 19th century azulejos found a new utility in Portugal, lining the façades of urban multi-storey buildings, not only for decoration, but mostly for utilitarian purposes, a unique development again shared only with Brasil. A number of other glazed decorative pieces, including statuary, was also routinely integrated in buildings of the Romantic era. Glazed architectural ceramics represent outstanding pieces of technological and decorative achievement while Portuguese azulejos integrated in architecture are one of the most original contributions of the country to the common cultural heritage of Mankind, justifying a series of international conferences on the theme of integrated glaze ceramics that Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil (LNEC) started in 2009 and now pursues in cooperation with Museu Nacional do Azulejo (the Portuguese National Azulejo Museum - MNAz).

The aim of this conference is to discuss azulejos and other architectural glazed ceramics of historic interest manufactured and applied anywhere in the world, their history, characteristics, decay, conservation and museology as well as related issues.

Main themes to be addressed are:

• Aspects in Art History;
• Historical context of the workshops and factories and their technology, as well as of the origin, production and routes of raw materials;
• Studies in the characterization of architectural glazed ceramics and their materials;
• Application and interactions with the environment;
• Decay of integrated glazed ceramics, its causes and remedies;
• Conservation and restoration methods and materials;
• Intervention cases and lessons learnt therefrom;
• Socio-cultural context and other intangible aspects;
• Museology and display;

Other research results and research needs in the field.

Other themes relevant to the object of the event may be considered- please contact the organizers.

Submission guidelines

Full communications of up to twenty pages are accepted until April 26, 2015.

All communications start by an abstract written in English of up to one page. The main text of the communication may be written in English, Spanish, Italian or Portuguese. Those accepted for oral or poster presentation may be presented in any of the congress languages.

Authors wishing to send a communication should follow the template available at the site http://azulejos2015.lnec.pt/ and mail it to both azulejos_Sc@lnec.pt and AzulejosConference@gmail.com.
It is not necessary to send an abstract beforehand for approval.

For those communications accepted, any suggested alterations must be considered and the final versions submitted by June 03.

All communications will be published in a Book of Proceedings. The first page of each communication with the abstract will be printed. The full papers are distributed as a DVD integrated in the Book of Proceedings.

All authors must register before May 31 to ensure that the communications will be considered for presentation and included in the Book of Proceedings.

All participants will receive a copy of the Book of Proceedings.

Communication Template

Important Dates

• April 26, 2015 - last day to remit full communications in template;
• May 31, 2015 - last day for authors to register if papers are to be included
  in the Book of Proceedings; Last day for registration at the reduced fees.
• June 03, 2015 - last day for final paper versions to be sent by authors for
  inclusion in Book of Proceedings.
• June 26, 2015 - last day for registrations to be accepted unconditionally
• 2015-07-02 .. 2015-07-03

The event will be made of invited lectures, and communications by researchers and practitioners.

The Conference is organized jointly by Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil and Museu Nacional do Azulejo as an outcome of the CerAzul project and a networking activity of the transnational research consortium IPERION CH and the Portuguese research infrastructure IPERION-CH.pt.

The conference will last for two days and shall include invited lectures, oral presentations and poster presentations.
The Scientific Committee will select the form of presentation of communications considering the slots available, their originality and thematic affinities.

Registration until June 26, 2015.

Registration fees

• The registration fee is €125.00.
• Reduced fee: €85.00 for payments received until May 31, 2015.
• Students’ fee: €50.00 if paid until May 31, 2015 (full fee for later student registration).

The registration fee includes admission to all conference presentations, a copy of the Book of Proceedings, a certificate of attendance and morning & afternoon coffee breaks.

Lunch at the premises and participation in an event dinner are optional at extra cost.

Scientific Committee

• J. Delgado Rodrigues (LNEC) chair
• Alexandre Pais (MNAz) chair
• Ana Luisa Velosa (Universidade de Aveiro)
• Augusta Moniz Lima (VICARTE - Universidade Nova de Lisboa)
• Eduarda Vieira (CITAR/ Escola de Artes - Universidade Católica do Porto)
• João Coroado (Instituto Politécnico de Tomar)
• João Manuel Mimoso (LNEC)
• José Mirão (Laboratório Hercules - Universidade de Évora; IPERION-CH.pt)
• Lurdes Esteves (MNAz)
• Maria do Rosário Veiga (LNEC)
• Marluci Menezes (LNEC)
• Nuno Senos (CHAM - Universidade Nova de Lisboa)
• Rosário Salema de Carvalho (Az-Rede / ARTIS - Universidade de Lisboa)
• Sílvia Pereira (LNEC)
• Teresa Gonçalves (LNEC)
• Thais Caminha Sanjad (LACORE - Universidade Federal do Pará, Brazil)