The museum is located in the Santa Ana factory complex: the production of ceramics at this place began 500 years ago and stopped only at the end of the 20th century. The architects who carried out not only the reconstruction of the building for the exhibition needs, but also the design of the exposition, regard their project as just another “step in the evolution” of this manufacture.
8 kilns, a well, mills for making paints, workshops and storerooms have survived from the operating factory. In the course of archaeological finds, the remains of 8 more furnaces were found, the oldest of which were no longer used at the end of the 16th century.
The architects did not want to "declare" anything with their project, but only tried to fit into the historical context: for example, their work does not manifest itself in any way on the facades of the building.
Over the centuries of active work, the manufactory has been repeatedly rebuilt, renovated and expanded, and today its complex is a chaotic mosaic of fragments of different times. With the help of the latest archaeological methods, it was possible to preserve not only this disorder, but even the soot and ash of past centuries.
The first tier of the building is organized around the furnaces, which makes the space labyrinthine; here is an introduction to the traditional process of making ceramics. Showrooms on the second floor are located around the patio. The facades of this part of the building are shielded from the sun with locally produced ceramic tubes: this is both a reference to the theme of the museum and a way to visually highlight the newest layer in the architectural “palimpsest”.
