TetWey Chen

Glassblowing House

The craft of glassblowing has been around for centuries. The meticulous craftsmanship has carried its traditions through to the present day. Glass is both hard and soft in its raw state. It is incredibly strong, yet extremely fragile. It can soak up light or shimmer in its presence.

Sited in Carlton between Elgin Street and Pinky’s Lane, the proposal aims to celebrate the process of glassmaking while providing a home for the creative glass artists and the local community to engage in the unique theatrical making of glass. It consists of glass art galleries, workshop areas and a residence with shared communal kitchen, dining, living and library.

The concepts are inspired by hands-on processes of glassblowing, which generated a set of principles for the design. The fluidity of hot glass state serves as a strategy to invite visitors into the space. The constant rotation of glass formulates the circular geometry of the main glassblowing workshop. Different treatment of glass making offers multiple levels of privacy while still allowing natural light to penetrate the space. A ritualistic setting within the veil of translucent glass bricks amplifies one’s sense while the visitors witness the performance.