The Bat Trang Ceramic Community House was opened in 2021 after three years of building. The project, which received a total investment of 150 billion VND, is a component of The Centre for “Quintessence of the Vietnamese Craft Village,” which was established to promote craft villages and safeguard more than 500-year-old pottery craft traditions.
The Bat Trang Ceramic Community House is crucial to the planning of the hamlet. With a view of the Red River and the Bac Hung Hai canal, it is situated near the entrance to greet visitors. Construction density and height are carefully managed, harmonious proportions and views are created, the canal scenery is enhanced, and the busy atmosphere of the canal’s historic ceramic market is recreated by carefully considering the building form.
The proposal is a five-story complex with many different uses. The seven interconnecting ceramic wheels that make up the architectural form were inspired by the idea of a potter shaping a block of clay into overlapping curves that tend to widen gradually. It builds an enormous volume and enhances its usability by adding features like a staircase to navigate between floors or a shelf for showcasing pottery. From a different angle, the project resembles the picture of Bat Trang’s antique gourd furnace.
The primary motif of the pottery village is the reddish-brown colour of rough ceramics, which highlights its rustic and pastoral features. It makes extensive use of materials common to the craft community, like Bat Trang bricks and tiles.
