Kalebodur launches 3 mm light-transmitting Translucent porcelain slab

What happened

Kalebodur has launched Translucent, a semi-transparent porcelain slab intended to allow light through while producing an even, softened illumination effect. The slab is 3 mm thick and measures 100 × 300 cm.

The company says its development work centred on retaining mechanical strength while enabling light transmission. Achieving consistent density and thickness across the large slab was also identified as a manufacturing challenge.

At its launch, Kalebodur demonstrated the material in a 3D-mapping installation and a 12-metre table setting. The company says lighting installed behind the slab can create illuminated surfaces, including dynamic effects where light colour, intensity or movement changes.

What to do next: Architects and interior designers considering the product should review its performance and installation suitability for the intended application, particularly where backlighting, privacy and continuous surface design are required.

Why it matters

Translucent offers a porcelain-based option for interior schemes in which light transmission is part of the spatial brief. Kalebodur identifies office partitions, hotel rooms, restaurants, spa spaces, homes and public buildings as possible applications.

For partitioning, the material is intended to preserve some visual connection between spaces while providing a degree of privacy. Its large format may also help designers create fewer visible joins in illuminated wall, furniture or counter applications.

Kalebodur says using the material to spread daylight indoors could reduce demand for artificial lighting. That is a design potential rather than a quantified energy claim: results will depend on the building, orientation, lighting controls and the final installation.

The manufacturer also positions the slab for use with LED systems behind the surface, including tables and counters. This could give project teams another way to integrate lighting with finish specifications, rather than treating it solely as a separate fitting.

Digital design access

Kalebodur says Translucent is available through BIM integration on its Kale Core 2.0 platform. The company also says it uses IoT infrastructure and predictive-quality models to analyse production data.

The product forms part of Kalebodur’s wider large-format porcelain offer. According to the company, it has made large porcelain slabs in Türkiye for more than two decades.