張雷：景德鎮丙丁柴窯 The World-class Woodkiln

Making porcelain is actually very cool It’s a combination of traditional artistry and craftsmanship It has to be ceremonial Woodkiln BingDing is in Qiancheng village, Fuliang town, Jiangxi province Leaning against hills and surrounded by bamboos Jingdezhen used to be a part of Fuliang Fuliang town is the origin of the capital of porcelain

Woodkiln is a traditional technique Someone like professor Yu who knows how to build a kiln and how to operate it If he owns a woodkiln He can literally bring the skills of woodkiln To a whole new level November 2016, we met for the first time Our hope is to represent the contemporary Jingdezhen woodkilns

With Woodkiln BingDing The kiln covers a 5mu slot of land Floor area 1,800 square meters It takes a rectangular shape The space with axis Concrete arches and red bricks The entire space centers on the furnace It’s a two-arch structure

We didn’t have a blueprint Or follow any model It’s all in the kiln builder’s head To build it With minimum materials and the simplest construction logic To emphasize on the kiln itself Besides the bricks There is only one other material used, concrete

The material, the structure and the space are integrated Due to the requirement of production Plenty of space is left in front of the kiln And saggars stand on both sides At the time of ignition And starting the kiln A place like this is necessary Another dynamic route Is for visitors Porcelain fans would come visit The entrance is located on the axis It’s narrow

You feel like the space is squeezing in Going up the stairs And look back at the kiln from high up You will experience a special sense of space Controlling of the sense of light is important There is an opening on the roof To invite light in Which makes the building kind of sacred

And the openings on the sides are long and narrow Not much light penetrates through them Professor Yu told me That we must build a unique concrete house Better than Tadao Ando 56 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:23,840 I was thrilled to hear that And I wondered how can we beat Tadao Ando He said we push it to the limit We use zero wall anchors in the entire building

The kiln was finished in April 2019 The first ignition was April 29 and we started firing on May 4 About 2000 pieces of porcelain With delicate figure And smooth glazing Unlike regular gas kilns It has an annual production of three, four batches

At the 16th Venice Biennale The first work across the entrance of the China hall is our Woodkiln BingDing To express an ancient dying art in a contemporary way Is the responsibility of a modern architect