Hanna Hänig
Hanna, please introduce yourself:
My name is Hanna Hänig. I create objects mostly through clay, that move between sculpture and function as an intuitive extension of spatial design. Rooted in interior architecture, my practice focuses on tactile, hand-shaped forms that extend across food, furniture, fashion, and immersive environments. Alongside my practice, I occasionally host clay workshops, creating spaces for shared learning and making.
© Finn Brücher
#1 You work as both an interior architect and a ceramicist. What drew you to ceramics, and in what ways do these two disciplines complement each other?
Ceramics came into my life at a moment when I was working a lot in front of my computer and needed something more intuitive. In interior architecture, I was used to working within many constraints, plans, scales, and technical decisions. Most of the spaces and objects I designed started in 2D, whether sketched by hand or digitally.
Clay felt like the opposite. I could just start shaping a volume with my hands and refine the idea along the way. The gravity of the material itself makes you understand whether an idea is realistic, and the prototype can become the final object over time as you work on it.
At the same time, the two disciplines are closely connected. Ceramics have been used as structural, functional, and decorative objects in interiors for a long time. I think when I create, my architectural background uncconciously always gives me a sense of structure and proportion, while clay allows me to soften that structure and let it become more fluid.
It’s the balance between control and letting go.
#2 Unlike interior architecture , working with clay seems to be a more intuitive process. What inspires you most during the design process for your work?
Most of the time, I don’t start with a fixed idea, and the piece develops while I’m working on it. Sometimes I begin with simple cubic shapes and modify them through texture or small details. I’m very guided by the material itself, how it reacts, where it collapses, where it holds. I like to reassemble pieces and turn objets upside down while im working. A lot also comes from small, everyday experiences you don’t consciously notice but that somehow stay in your mind.
© Luna Schaffron
#3 As well as architectural elements, your ceramic work also focuses on fashion and food presentation. How do you make use of the qualities of clay in these different areas?
In fashion, I’m interested in how ceramic pieces can interact with the body, how they move, and how something very rigid and fragile can exist in a very alive, dynamic context.
For food, it’s more about creating a setting and an experience. I think a lot about how the object is going to be touched and how it frames and preserves what it holds. I especially like to create structures on which simple food can be presented in ways that catch the eye. I want the ceramics and the food to complement each other and for both parts to become part of the experience.
#4 In what ways can the process of working with materials by hand, such as clay, be transferred to the field of architecture?
Working with your hands creates a different kind of understanding. You feel the limits of a material, its resistance, and its weight.
I think this sensitivity is often missing when the creation happens on a screen and in 3D modeling programs. Once you’ve experienced a material physically, you approach it differently in design.
It also teaches patience. You can’t rush clay, and I think that mindset is something sustainable architecture needs as well.
Good ideas take time and should be developed more consciously.
Left: © Luna Schaffron, Right: © Finn Brücher
#5 Fluid structures and mystical and natural elements, such as flowers and butterflies, seem to feature prominently in your work. What is it about these motifs that fascinates you?
I don’t know exactly what it is, maybe their constant transformation. They’re never static, always in a state of becoming. Something light, fragile, attracting, uncontrollable, and unique.
I don’t see them as direct references, but more as an inspiration or a feeling that influences movement, structure, and color in the work.
#6 You grew up in Germany, but you chose to move to Paris a few years ago. How has living in Paris influenced your creative work?
Living in Paris changed my relationship to my work in many ways. There is more attention to atmosphere here, how things feel, not just how they function. I have access to art of all kinds all the time, and I’m lucky to be surrounded by many talented and creative friends who inspire me every day.
The city is in constant movement, it never stops. It can be challenging at times, but moving here is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and gave me the space to grow and explore more freely.
Top: © Hanna Hänig, Bottom Left: © Finn Brücher, Bottom Right: @ Luna Schaffron
#7 How do you see the role of an architect in today's society?
I think an architect’s role is to create an emotion, ideally a good one. We shape the way people live and experience space and by doing that we should be conscious about the sustainability of our projects, from the organisation of the construction to the choice of materials.
Architecture influences our daily lives, so we should be aware of that impact and design spaces that feel thoughtful, honest, and sensitive to their context. Spaces should be shaped by humans for humans, and I think it is important to preserve and support all human made design and not let AI take over, even if it can be tempting because it can speed things up.
#8 How does your environment influence your work?
It is fast paced and inspiring, and that motivates me to create. I’m constantly collecting impressions that stay somewhere in the background and reappear later in the studio.
#9 Three things that inspire you at the moment?
Vintage architecture magazines and cookbooks, going for long walks through the city, and seeing collections of vintage objects and furniture in museums.
#10 What do you currently read, watch, listen to?
I like reading things that make me reflect on a spiritual level or help me learn something about my practice. Especially watching or reading interviews or documentaries about Artists and Designers that inspire me.
I don't get to watch a lot of movies but if i do, I’m usually drawn to old movies and slow, raw films that feel like snippets of real life.
Music always changes. I go from Kenny Burrell and Norah Jones on a Sunday morning to old Rock, new experimental artists like Saya Gray and a ridiculous amount of “Pocketful of Sunshine” whenever i need dopamine.
That song somehow feels a bit like the recurring butterfly in my ceramics.
© Hanna Hänig
Links
Instagram: @hannahanig
Interview by Loretta Pittino