Ceramics Art Center Part 2 Project 2011 Alexandra Visan Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism | Romania TACTILITY ARCHITECTURE AND CERAMICSThe relationship between humans and architecture or ceramics is based on the common action of touching (experiencing, appreciating and creating), because the real perception of an object holds under both the tactile and the visual, meaning that the loss of senses might lead to your incapacity of relating to the environment.THE CERAMICS ART CENTERCeramics, in general, expresses the development of a society, understanding by that the technical and the spiritual aspects of a nation, with local characteristics, showing life evolution and the connection with the past.Taking into account Romania’s loss in this field, it is considered that a ceramics art center, composed by a ceramics school and an exhibition area, will bring a piece of old world in the middle of a new one, using modern facilities to attract young people by finding a way to mix the old techniques with the contemporary ones.The building grows from a hill, facing both nature and city, becoming a mark between the natural and the artificial, based on the full expression of ordinary materials, playing with massiveness and voids, generating a space characterized by permeability and by contrast between presence and absence.TRADITION MEETS MODERNITYThe open patio, the central area of the composition, is thought to be the meeting point between tradition and modernity, between the theoretical school, the practical school and the exhibition area, understanding by this that, in the middle of a contemporary object of architecture that responds properly to all the needs, a traditional area, with classical pottery studios and outdoor kilns, is recreated by modern means, bringing a piece of the old world in the middle of a totally changed one. At the same time, modern studios are designed as flexible spaces, using direct light from the North or indirect light from the South to illuminate the working area in a proper way and to naturally ventilate the spaces, in order to dry the pottery.The Ceramic Art Center wants to become a public space, where architecture supports creativity, using strong light effects and the simplicity of materials. Alexandra Visan Tutor(s) Prof Phd Arch Zeno Bogdanescu