CHONGKING, China—Check out this unique dining experience that may be nearly every ceramist’s fantasy. Due to overproduction in the area, the owner of the Huxi pottery kiln has transformed the property into a beautiful hillside restaurant, though as Designboom writes, the pro-bono architect Tian Qi had one caveat.
Dotted with several pottery factories which have led to an oversupply of product in recent years, the owner of the property decided to turn the kiln into a restaurant- an endeavor which architect Qi agreed to on the one condition that the kilns remain fully functioning.
Much of the original layout of the kiln was kept in tact though a new roof was installed which follows the slope of the hillside featuring local brick from a nearby manufacturer. Masonry and wood framing were used to construct the building. Slate tile butts up against the rocky hillside, which serve as walls yielding an indoor/outdoor effect.
The new restaurant is a carefully planned combination of old and new, traditional and avant garde, combining different elements to create a one of a kind dining experience that offers a working pottery kiln as a backdrop.
Qi’s details can be seen throughout the structure following the theme of old and new, including small pots embedded in the wall, local unearthed stones serve as pedestals in a rock garden and short bamboo stocks serve as chandelier stems.
The building was completed in 2016.
Images courtesy Tian Qi, Liu Quochang
Do you love or loathe this kiln-turned-restaurant from the world of contemporary ceramic art and contemporary ceramics? Share your thoughts in the comments.
A visual delight, I would love to dine there.