The kiln-building residency at Threading Stories in Nicosia, Cyprus, brought together material research, ecological craft practice, and collaborative making. Led by Alejandro Villacis of Threading Stories studio, the Short-Term Scientific Mission (STSM) invited resident artist Kaupo Holmberg to work alongside the team in designing and constructing a hybrid wood-fired kiln using reclaimed firebricks, local soils, and castable earthen materials. The project combined traditional local building knowledge with contemporary kiln-building practices, resulting in a structure that embodies sustainability, collaboration, and care for place.
A central aim of the project was to understand how kiln-making can operate as a tool for care; care for the environment, for material resources, and for shared knowledge. It was expressed through concrete decisions: sourcing from the land responsibly, using what was already available, and working in ways that strengthened continuity between place and practice. Through hands-on construction, the project re-examined local earth-building traditions as active design strategies rather than fixed heritage, integrating them into contemporary craft contexts while avoiding dependency on industrial materials. In this way, sustainability became an embodied, material practice rooted in locality.
