The Clay Pavilion by Álvaro Siza: Materiality and Community in Puerto Escondido

The Clay Pavilion, completed in 2017 by Álvaro Siza in collaboration with J. Alfonso Quiñones of BAAQ’, is a subtle yet powerful intervention within the lush coastal landscape of Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca. Commissioned by Casa Wabi as part of its mission to promote community knowledge and craft, the pavilion reactivates the region’s centuries-old clay traditions by providing a dedicated space for teaching, experimentation, and exhibition. In crafting this setting, Siza engaged a multidisciplinary team that included Inca Hernandez, Itzae Carrasco, and Alfonso Sodi, weaving together local expertise and global sensibilities.

Clay Pavilion Technical Information

• Architects^1-8: Álvaro Siza
• Local Architect: BAAQ’ | J. Alfonso Quiñones
• Client: Casa Wabi Foundation
• Location: Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico
• Gross Area: 140 m² | 1,506 Sq. Ft.
• Year of Completion: 2017
• Photographs: © João Morgado

Architecture is increasingly about dialogue between materials, places, and people. It is in this dialogue that spaces become meaningful.

– Álvaro Siza ¹⁰

Clay Pavilion Photographs

Design Intent and Spatial Organization

At the heart of the project is a palapa, a seven-meter-tall structure with a palm-thatched roof that draws from the region’s vernacular language. While the palapa’s form resonates with local building practices, it also hints at medieval wooden frameworks seen in Europe, a subtle acknowledgment of Siza’s architectural lineage. This layered reference reinforces the project’s role as a site of cultural and material exchange.

The spatial organization is concise and deliberate. The palapa shelters a six-by-two-meter concrete table, establishing a tactile and social anchor where clay modeling and communal activities unfold. Encircling this central space is a curved brick wall, eight meters in diameter, that shapes an intimate courtyard. This wall mediates the relationship between the enclosed workshop and the surrounding landscape, creating a spatial rhythm that balances openness with shelter. Storage rooms defined by an L-shaped wall and a small sanitary facility complete the program while ensuring the pavilion remains focused on making and learning clay crafts.

Materiality and Construction Techniques

Materiality in the Clay Pavilion is both practical and poetic. Locally sourced annealed red bricks, with their earthy hues and precise dimensions, provide a tactile and expressive envelope. These bricks were chosen for their structural performance and their resonance with regional construction methods. The curved walls, laid with care by local craftspeople, exhibit a subtle play of light and shadow that changes throughout the day, underscoring Siza’s sensitivity to natural light and climate.

The palm-thatched palapa roof, skillfully executed using traditional techniques, introduces a rich texture and an organic presence that contrasts with the precise geometry of the brickwork. This synergy between materials, brick, palm, and concrete, creates an architecture that is deeply grounded in its context. The apparent concrete table within the palapa reinforces this honesty and tactile engagement ethos, serving as both a functional surface and a sculptural element that embodies the pavilion’s pedagogical intent.

Clay Pavilion Cultural Significance

The Clay Pavilion extends beyond its physical form, engaging in a dialogue with its cultural and environmental surroundings. Siza’s design responds to the rhythms of the tropical climate, allowing for natural ventilation and a porous boundary between interior and exterior. The semicircular brick wall frames views of the coastal landscape while creating a protected environment for the kiln and workshops.

Culturally, the pavilion reflects the collaborative spirit that defines Casa Wabi’s mission. It becomes a vessel for the transmission of ancestral knowledge, supporting community resilience and the continuity of regional traditions. In this convergence of local practice and global architectural insight, the pavilion exemplifies Siza’s broader approach: a careful balance between modernist rigor and deep respect for place.

Experientially, the pavilion invites visitors and makers to engage with the materiality of clay, to feel the warmth of the bricks under the sun, and to hear the rustling of palm leaves in the coastal breeze. This sensory richness underscores the pavilion’s role as a catalyst for creativity and cultural exchange.

Clay Pavilion Plans

Clay Pavilion Image Gallery

About Álvaro Siza

Álvaro Siza is a Portuguese architect renowned for his ability to craft spaces of quiet elegance through thoughtful materiality, light, and proportion. His work bridges modernist rigor and site-specific sensitivity, resulting in buildings that are deeply rooted in their cultural and environmental contexts.

Credits and Additional Notes

1. Architect Leader in Porto: Clemente Meineres
2. Local Team: Inca Hernandez, Itzae Carrasco, Alfonso Sodi
3. Construction: Mario Conde
4. Structural Design: Alfonso Sodi
5. Facilities: Heriberto Carmona
6. Construction Leader: Jose Ramirez
7. Palapas: David Jimenez
8. Carpentry: Javier Gomez
9. Álvaro Siza and Carlos Castanheira. Álvaro Siza: The Function of Beauty. Skira, 2009
10. Álvaro Siza Vieira. Álvaro Siza: Writings on Architecture. Edited by António Choupina. Circo de Ideias, 2014.