The Beauty of HUman Touch
An artisan hub and a third place for the community.
Get to know the project
The project aims to create a culturally rooted, community-driven hub that reconnects George Town’s fragmented urban fabric with its forgotten craft heritage. By reintroducing traditional pottery and storytelling into everyday life, the design fosters intergenerational exchange and invites people to pause, engage, and belong. As a people-centred ‘third place’, it offers inclusive, family-friendly spaces that serve locals, tourists, artisans, and marginalized voices alike — promoting cultural continuity, social resilience, and creative economy. Seamlessly embedded within its urban context, the architecture acts as a vessel of memory, while complying with safety, buildability, and regulatory standards to ensure long-term sustainability and relevance.
Penang was once rich in handcraft culture.A working-class community lived at a slower pace, taking pride in shaping the land with their hands. One such place was Brick Kiln Road — known as Jalan Batu Bakar and Hong Chia Lor by different communities — where people lived and worked side by side in harmony.By the 1960s, however, this slow and careful way of making was gradually replaced. Handcrafts were overshadowed by machines that promised speed and efficiency. The warmth of the kiln was replaced by the glow of neon lights. Clay gave way to concrete and glass. The artisans disappeared, and with them, the memory of what had once built the city’s foundation.The renaming of Brick Kiln Road to Jalan Gurdwara marked more than just a change in signage — it reflected the loss of a shared identity. Vacant lots were left behind, slowly falling into decay.Yet in recent years, a spark has returned. In George Town, places like Hin Bus Depot have begun to breathe life back into the city’s creative spirit. Through art, craft, and community gathering, Penang is beginning to remember.This is a place where local artisans share their stories through craft — where hands shaping clay hold generations of memory. A space for the community to reconnect with culture, and for visitors to witness the quiet beauty of the human touch — slow, deliberate, and full of meaning.The warmth of slowness, the honesty of handcraft, and the quiet care of human touch remind us: Progress should not come at the cost of memory.
In this project, you are invited to slow down and immerse yourself in the tactile experience of raw, natural textures. It celebrates the beauty of craftsmanship and the passage of time, allowing visitors to reconnect with the rich history and authentic character of the place through thoughtful design and materials.
