Hao Zhou

Hao is from XIAN, China. She completed a BArch in Architecture at the Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology. During college, Hao had professional experiences at Atelier Deshaus. At the moment, she has completed her Part II Master degree at the Royal College of Art.

In the first year, she explored open architecture in ADS9, by simulating Fata Morgana to change the angle of light to shape different light environments. Experiment with creating different spatial effects to define the architectural space. In the second year, Hao worked at ADS10, she tried to redefine the museum between school and home, and show people's activities, explore the relationship between people and landscape and natural elements through ceramic production.

THE INHABITABLE KILN

Ceramics are something ordinary but very profound. In the museum of the everyday, the objects of ceramics are not the product of artistic practice but only the visible residue of a no longer visible process. The ritual of porcelain making includes several stages such as preparation, firing, and exhibition, where the kiln firing becomes the climax time for the whole process. Here people exchange and improve their knowledge together. As the generator of activities, the kiln not only generates porcelain production, but it gathers also other activities such as eating, living, entertaining, and education: it becomes part of the everyday life of the workers.

The project translates this ritual process of porcelain making, with a particular emphasis on the kiln firing process at its core. The proposal is to give a clearer form to such ritual, starting from a deep analysis and interaction with the existing Heartsong Fire Community.

The project is a vertical tower that host both living and working spaces of the community. The kiln is places at its core, where living and working merge and all the surrounding activities, bedrooms and smaller workshops on different floors are constantly visually connected to the kiln. The central space is also open to the public: here the whole village can gather and learn how to communicate and exchange the delicate art of porcelain making.

The building respectfully integrates in the landscape of the city of Jingdezhen, famous for its porcelain making. It envelops and protects the the ritual of porcelain making and its participants, while naturally sitting in the forest like a beautiful mountain.

The Core of the Mountain

At its core the building is like a cave, with a very rough atmosphere. It opens at the top, to allow the kiln to emerge and the air to flow. The cave-like space enhances the feeling of protection and gives the impression of sitting at the heart of a mountain. The space is open not only to ceramicists, their practice and communal living, but also to neighbours and citizens who would like to learn more and exchange their knowledge of ceramic-making.

Living with Working

Kiln as Activities Generator

Heartsong Fire Community is a group of ceramists based on a small farmhouse on the Gele mountain in China. They use kiln firing as a collective ritual and combine it with domestic living, ceramic-making, performance, education and festival. Here I learned that through kiln firing, people exchange and improve their knowledge together.

Iberê Camargo Foundation — The study of the promenade that articulates the Iberê Camargo Foundation designed by Alvaro Siza, is the main spatial inspiration of the project. Here, the promenade is a one continuous path that starts at the bottom and moves towards the top; people circulate around a void, and experience different views of the building while remaining on the same circulation space.

Inhabited Perspective Section — Placing the kiln at the centre of the Iberê Camargo Foundation, subjects begun to inhabit the building, turning the original museum into a residence for them. The building is transformed in a huge production machine, where the internal void is destined to the main workshop while the promenade wraps around it by creating a link between a series of small workshops located on different floors.

One Day

Porcelain making develops in three main stages: preparation, firing, and exhibition. We usually see porcelain as a finished object, yet it is important to reveal and understand the process as a whole. As part of the ritual, kiln firing is undoubtedly the peak step in the whole process, not only because it is one of the final actions, but also because it is the place around which the common knowledge is developed and the sense of collectiveness reaches its climax.

Excavation Clay Model

Clay Mass

The project mass is inspired by the excavation action in Iberê Camargo Foundation made by Siza. It is trying to be a beautiful object and be part of the landscape. The mass seems like a small mountain with openings could be placed on the landscape and beautiful to admire from a distance.

Site Plan

The site is the village of Jingsezhen in China, perhaps the most famous porcelain city in China. It is located in a very natural environment, next to a beautiful stream and the mountain. The growth of the city stopped long ago, since it preferred to mainly depend on ceramic production. The scale of production is local, it focuses on crafts and skills inherited from a long tradition, which are quite hard to fall into mass-production. The aim of this project is to give a space to this monumental transmission of knowledge, by designing a budling that stands close to the village but does not interfere with it. It connects to the rural part of the area, inviting people to an experience of living and working together around the ancient collective ritual of porcelain making.

Perspective Section — The building is a juxtaposition of living and working. The core workshop in the middle is protected by the monumentality of the mountain shape, while all around small workshops and bedrooms look towards it. This spatial organisation formalises the centrality of kiln firing, as the central activity in the whole production process.

Ground Floor Plan

Plans — Essentially the project consists of a courtyard and a frame. The frame is mainly inhabited by functional small spaces, which grow more privately towards the outside. The courtyard acts both as a cave and a stage, it protects the rituals and stages its communal meaning.

Public Communal Space — The more internal frame is still a common area. Here students can exchange knowledge, collect and gather their tools, and experiment with different techniques. The facade consists of a series of horizontal slabs, which turn the building into a solid presence from the outside and an open space from the inside. These spaces are connected to the central kiln. Carrying most of the circulation function around the kiln, stairs directly connect these spaces on each floor.

Private Communal Space — The space closer to the outer facade is a slightly more private. Here the individual making and the learning of the skills happen. Small-scale communal leisure living spaces that allow people to slightly escape from the community. The outer facade is composed of sparse and thick horizontal slabs with a height modulus of 1.8m. The formed opening allows people to enjoy the view of the landscape while people relax or sit.

Hao Zhou

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Royal College of Art