Álvaro Siza designed the project as a workshop for children who live in the area to learn the local clays techniques of Oaxaca, in conjunction with artists on Casa Wabi's residency programme.
Casa Wabi staff identified that teaching the technique and the process for handling the mud would be a very positive tool for the community, since this is a technique that has been taught for generations, and if you do not belong to a family that is dedicated to clay art, it is very difficult for you to learn or develop this technique.
The project focuses on a main palapa (an open building with a roof made of dry palms and wooden supports), where the modeling of the material is taught, and the pieces resulting from the workshops are exposed, as well as a cellar, bathrooms, and oven.
The entire program is contained within a brick wall in a half circle shape enclosing a patio for the clay oven. The main palapa is 7m high, including a 6x2m apparent concrete table, ideal for manual work. The curved brick wall is eight meters in diameter, and jointly by another L-shaped wall is creates two rooms to store ceramic and clay tools.
For the development of the design, Arch Alfonso Quiñones visited the Office of Arch Siza in Porto, and together with his team studied the materials and traditional construction techniques of the Oaxaca coast.
The construction was made with annealed red bricks, these bricks have special measures, to be able to fulfill their structural work. A palapa covers the space and its shape resembles that of medieval structures made of wood in Europe.
Casa Wabi staff identified that teaching the technique and the process for handling the mud would be a very positive tool for the community, since this is a technique that has been taught for generations, and if you do not belong to a family that is dedicated to clay art, it is very difficult for you to learn or develop this technique.
The project focuses on a main palapa (an open building with a roof made of dry palms and wooden supports), where the modeling of the material is taught, and the pieces resulting from the workshops are exposed, as well as a cellar, bathrooms, and oven.
The entire program is contained within a brick wall in a half circle shape enclosing a patio for the clay oven. The main palapa is 7m high, including a 6x2m apparent concrete table, ideal for manual work. The curved brick wall is eight meters in diameter, and jointly by another L-shaped wall is creates two rooms to store ceramic and clay tools.
For the development of the design, Arch Alfonso Quiñones visited the Office of Arch Siza in Porto, and together with his team studied the materials and traditional construction techniques of the Oaxaca coast.
The construction was made with annealed red bricks, these bricks have special measures, to be able to fulfill their structural work. A palapa covers the space and its shape resembles that of medieval structures made of wood in Europe.
