Terra Cotta in Transition: Connecting the traditional terra cotta craft village Thanh Hà to potential markets

Terra Cotta in Transition: Connecting the traditional terra cotta craft village Thanh Hà to potential markets

De Koning, J.I.J.C.

Brezet, J.C. (mentor)
Crul, M.R.M. (mentor)

Industrial Design Engineering

Design Engineering

Master of Science Strategic Product Design

2012-08-24

Thanh Hà is a traditional craft village in central Vietnam. For centuries the families in the village have been making terra cotta products from the local found clay. Traditionally Thanh Hà focused on making building materials for the houses of nearby H?i An, a city only two kilometers from Thanh Hà. For centuries the bricks, floor and roof tiles produced in Thanh Hà have been used to construct the houses and buildings in H?i An. Industrialization is getting up to speed in Vietnam and the manufacturing units in the traditional pottery villages Thanh Hà are small in scale, fragmented, with outdated technology, and the craftsmen of the village can not meet large orders from overseas. The production of tiles and bricks has been discontinued due to the environmental pollution it causes. This project formulates a strategy for the Vietnamese pottery craft village Thanh Hà in order to connect their products better to the new target markets: the tourists. The initiative to support the craftsmen in Thanh Hà comes from the Vietnamese architecture firm Nha Viet. Nha Viet identified the need for innovation of the pottery craft in Thanh Ha in order to preserve and promote the craft of making terra cotta products in the village. As an architecture firm they have taken the initiative to build a Terra Cotta Park that will host a museum, shop and innovation centre. This project is aimed at formulating an innovation strategy for the terra cotta village Thanh Ha that can be executed through the Terra Cotta Park that Nha Viet is building at the moment. In 2013 the Terra Cotta Park will be opening its doors and the first steps of the innovation strategy that is proposed in this project have already been taken. The foundation of the end result of this project, the innovation strategy, is summarized and visualized in a Strategic Road Map. Design guidelines support this strategy by stimulating a more user centered design process and personas of specific tourist groups will help understand the target market better. This strategy will be executed by Nha Viet through the Terra Cotta Park in Thanh Hà. The strategy must ensure that the core strengths of Thanh Ha are leveraged. The core strength of Thanh Ha is making hand crafted terra cotta products that are inspired by local culture. In order to ensure these two aspects of authenticity of the products, the TCP needs to educate the craftsmen well. Priorities for Nha Viet therefor lie with educating the craftsmen and teaching them to design products that fit the target market but are also true to their core strengths. The use of the design guidelines that focus on producing products that confirm to these strengths are important in the success of the outcome of the design process. Nha Viet must encourage the designers to document this process too and let a documented knowledge base grow almost automatically this way. Working together with craftsmen has proven to be more difficult than assumed in the beginning of this project. For other projects that also involve working together with craftsmen, it important to engage them in the process. Although they are used to get orders and execute them, empowering them to make their own decisions will stimulate innovation. It is more valuable to teach them how to make products than giving them a product. This is a process that takes time and devotion of the parties that work together with craftsmen. The strategic road map is the unification of all steps that need to be taken with regards to the different levels. The road map is a starting point for Nha Viet to execute and further define the strategy for the TCP. Other students have already applied some of the deliverables elsewhere and proven that they can be valuable for a broader public. The strategy and road map are divided in three phases: preparatory phase, first year of opening of the TCP and the future. (1) The first year of preparation, when the TCP is still being built, the focus of the strategy must be on creating a good relationship between the craftsmen and building an authentic product portfolio. This year is the year the basis is founded and the company that is the TCP is created. (2) The second year, the near future, is the year that the TCP is open for the first time. The foundation that is laid out in the preparatory year must be solid and ensure that the TCP can start producing turnover. Over the course of the year the focus must be on improving quality of the products and services offered. (3) The far future, when the TCP will be ope for a few years, the business must run smoothly. The basis is solid and an authentic and high quality portfolio has been established with satisfied customers. This is the time the TCP can start up scaling and widening their target markets. Diversification of products and markets will need to be investigated by then. This project has been executed in only seven months but defines the next five years of the future of the TCP. Therefore Nha Viet needs to be flexible towards changes that might occur. This project has unveiled the core strengths of Thanh Ha and it is important that the TCP keeps the craftsmen close to these core strengths and does not let them float into other directions, far away from their core strengths.

innovation
co-creation
road map
terra cotta
product strategy
clusters

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:10fa2cde-9149-4ea1-b615-d2a4ace9890a

Campus only

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2012 De Koning, J.I.J.C.