REGENERATION

Mang Thit has been a famous pottery-brick production village for decades located in Vinh Long province – Viet Nam, characterized by round brick kilns combined with river landscapes, which carried great symbolic significance for an era and local people. However, the number of remaining kilns is very small, most of which have been dismantled and destroyed due to the policies of dismantling unused brick production facilities that pollute the environment, ran out of resources, economic pressure ,…

When the brick industry declined, brick-makers had to return to farming in the context of shrinking agricultural land, or had to leave their homeland to go to big cities to work in industry and service while the level of education was low. Not only that, because of the geographical features, the activities here are affected by the river water regime, plus the consequences that brickmaking process left for the environment here, the challenges to transform functions and level up quality for this legacy is not easy.

Understanding that context, the purpose is to convert and elevate these brick kiln ruins into a contemporary heritage in order to attract tourism and create jobs for local people. Integrated planning is based on the study of architecture, environment, economy and tourism trends of the future. The project’s solutions are based on 3 SDGS – the United Nations’ Sustainable

Development Goals:
SDG 08 – Decent work and economic growth: Converting the function of brick kilns into a cultural center of recycled bricks and ceramics, combined with sightseeing tours to create local livelihoods for people. Organizing exhibitions of ceramic brick art, accommodation for tourists to take advantage of the brick kiln ruins. Break down the implementation phase to reduce economic pressure on the locality.

SDG 13 – Climate action: Reduce production of handmade bricks, recycle and reuse bricks depending on the quality of finishing, restructure the function of brick kilns. Create collection points for old ceramic tiles around the heritage site.

SDG 14 – Life bellow water: restrict motorboats on canals, redesign shoreline landscapes, improve water and soil quality to return to river ecosystems.