Renovation of a Hoffmann Kiln / HCCH Studio

Pudong Hoffman Brick Kiln (referred to as "Pudong Red Kiln") is located in Laogang Town, Nanhui, Pudong. It is a typical Hoffman Kiln. Patented by German Friedrich Hoffmann in 1858, the kiln features a ring passageway surrounded by small rooms. It was widely used over the world because of its efficient use of heat and fuel. It began to appear on the landscape of Shanghai in the early 20th century. The red kiln on the site had already lost its original function for a long. The roof and walls were collapsed and damaged, buried by soil, and overgrown with weeds. The site sits on the edge of an underused golf course bounded by a canal that flows from the center of the town to the East China Sea. As the site will be transformed into a suburban leisure park in the future, the red kiln will also be transformed from the ruins of production into a public place.