rows of hand-painted blue ceramic beads
She hand-painted 160 of the beads with a matte stain from Mason Color and left 140 unfinished, before firing all of them.

April 24, 2024

Words: Athena Waligore

How Clay Makes a Big Impact in This Vancouver Office

M Moser Associates plus TAV Ceramics equals abacus-inspired installations for the Vancouver, Canada, office of accounting-software company Tipalti. “Clay’s not fragile, it’s capable of holding its own in large-scale architectural installations,” asserts Arora. Read on to learn how the team created a series of tactile ceramic installations throughout the Tipalti office.

Behind the Design of Hundreds of Ethereal Ceramic Beads 

An iPad sketch of a ceramic installation
An iPad sketch by M Moser Associates senior associate Alex Watkins reveals one of two installations that would be realized by Canadian-based artist Tanvi Arora of TAV Ceramics for Tipalti’s Vancouver office, a two-level 24,000-square-foot project also by M Moser. Sketch courtesy of M Moser Associates.
glaze being poured onto a ceramic disk
To form the giant ceramic “beads” that would compose the abacus-reminiscent works—one an all-white partition, the other a blue ceiling-scape—Arora poured clay into molds in her studio, also in Vancouver. Photography by Luis Valdizon.
shades of blue and gray on ceramic rectangles
She tested multiple pigments before finding the shade that matched Tipalti’s branding. Photography courtesy of Tanvi Arora.
rows of hand-painted blue ceramic beads
She hand-painted 160 of the beads with a matte stain from Mason Color and left 140 unfinished, before firing all of them. Photography by Luis Valdizon.

Tipalti’s Office Installation by the Numbers…

  • 2,000 pounds of clay
  • 21 designers, contractors, and engineers led by M Moser senior associates Vicky Bautista and Alex Watkins
  • Three days of installation
  • 2 pounds of blue pigment
  • 300 slip-cast clay beads
a person stringing a ceramic bead in place.
Each bead is carefully set in place. Photography by Luis Valdizon.
On-site, the beads for the partition were strung on floor-to-ceiling metal rods fitted with rubber gaskets.
On-site, the beads for the partition were strung on floor-to-ceiling metal rods fitted with rubber gaskets. Photography by Luis Valdizon.
Arora’s ceramic beads are approximately 1 foot tall.
Arora’s ceramic beads are approximately 1 foot tall. Photography by Luis Valdizon.
a woman hand paints a ceramic bead in a blue hue
Arora hand-painting the beads. Photography courtesy of Tanvi Arora.
close up of the blue beads hanging from the ceiling
The 160 blue pieces were strung on white powder-coated metal rods above the communal kitchen and reception. Photography by Luis Valdizon.
Some of the 140 unstained ceramics span the lower floor’s entire 13-foot height.
Some of the 140 unstained ceramics span the lower floor’s entire 13-foot height. Photography by Barry Underhill.
blue beads hang above the communal kitchen
M Moser selected the abacus theme to synchronize with Tipalti’s financial mission, with TAV Ceramics bringing hand-made craft to the workplace. Photography by Barry Underhill.

read more