HOI AN, Vietnam — Vietnamese design studio Tropical Space has created its stunning cube-shaped Terra Cotta Studio for sculptor Le Duc Ha. Behind its 23-foot-hight beautifully perforated brick facade, concentric squares reveal an elaborate shelving grid, which accommodates benches, walkways and staircases while affording elegant shelving and display space for the artist’s creations, Architectural Review writes.

Head architect Nguyen Hai Long told Architectural Review:

‘We like to create empty space. [Like] the space in a cave or the shadow under a tree.”

On the ground floor, a wide, open corridor of light through the volume’s center melds the interior and surrounding vegetable garden. The artist’s workspace is housed at this level, with his pottery wheel placed at the center. Directly above, an oculus-like circular cut-out enables visitors to observe the artist at work.

Through a simple material palette and pure geometric composition of both plan and facades, the practice has created this delightful ’empty space.’ Disclosing the beauty of cheap raw materials, it has also highlighted the importance for local workers to be able easily to construct its designs.

The site is located beside a river on the outskirts of coastal Vietnam city Hội An.

The design was a finalist for the AR Emerging Architecture 2016| Terra Cotta Studio

Do you love or loathe this brick architecture from the worlds of contemporary ceramic art and contemporary ceramics. Let us know in the comments.

Images courtesy Tropical Space.