Onggi VillageUlsanSouth Korea

These elements represent the very heart of our plan for Onggi Village. The village revitalization will happen through a long-term and ever-evolving strategy. We propose a sequence of ten thousand events. Every week, something new happens, something new is being discovered. Slowly, but certainly, we will breathe new life into the village.The process of fermentation will attract foodies from around the world.The village will host a year-round ceramic artist program. Visitors become residents that engage with both traditional and future ways of living.

Magic happens in the overlapping of craft, food and stay. Here, through the learning from the traditional onggi kiln, the Commons of the village is emerging. Each “kiln” is self-sufficient and functional, interconnected within, with one roof that covers them all. The combination of the three roofs creates an open and permeable structure in which the programs can mix. Cross pollination of programs stimulates the spatial synergies. Soil from the site forms the rammed earth columns. Recycled local timber supports the building roofs. Through shaping, molding, and firing in local kilns, the clay roof tiles contribute to the circularity of village life. The Commons opens a conversation about how new projects can respond to history in a meaningful way.

With Oegosan Onggi Village, we are taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. After half a century of trying to coax it into place, it's time to reconnect it to its very essence, to propel it towards a lasting future.