Mapuguaquén are unique hand-thrown clay speakers that combine ancestral pottery tradition with wireless audio-technology.

Mapuguaquén means “the sound of the earth” in Mapudungun, the language of the indigenous aborigines from the south of Chile.

Mapuguaquén speakers are made from clay on a potter’s wheel, finished with terra sigillata, and rounded with other natural materials such as olive wood and cork. The speakers were conceptualized using traditional techniques of craftsmanship and regional resources to fulfil contemporary needs. Furthermore, this unconventional method of fabrication allows us to rethink pottery as well as speakers while preserving the environment.

Dimensions Active mono speaker (4” full-range): 20 x 19 x 19 cm | Active stereo speaker (2 x 4” full-range): 20 x 35 x 21 cm | Active 2.1 system (1 x 5 1/4” woofer, 2 x 3” full-range): 28 x 28 x 49 cm | Passive 3-way speakers, each (1 x 5 1/4” woofer, 1 x 4” mid-range, 1 x 3” tweeter): 32 x 30 x 40 cm

Materials Black clay, cork, olive wood, copper, brass.

Awards The speakers recently won the Green Product Award, 2015 in Germany, category newcomer consumer electronics. They also obtained a ‘Special Mention’ at Salone Satellite of the Salone del Mobile de Milano, Italy, and have been exhibited at Interzum fair in Cologne, Industrie und Handelskammer zu Berlin and DMY design festival Berlin.

News They are currently developing the first series of Mapuguaquén to be finished by end 2015. To finance the next steps we plan to pre-sell the product through a crowd-funding campaign.

Development of Mapuguaquén

Source: Documentary Design

by Damion Pell

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