The new digital technologies for prediction and control of form and performance often enter the design process directly, risking the develop- ment of autonomous processes distant from the architectural objectives. Instead, these new instruments could allow us to open to new developments in the design experience. The Environmental Ceramics for Architecture Laboratory (ECAlab), of the Liverpool School of Architecture, combines design, research and training, materiality and immateriality, science and art, tradition and digital technologies, all responding to the urgent need for sustainable development.