Japanese studio Kooo Architects used customized bricks that mix compressed earth with tea leaf waste to create a pure really feel contained in the Théatre Teahouse in Beijing.
The shop situated in Beijing's central enterprise district belongs to the Chinese language model Théatre, which needed to immerse visitors within the expertise of consuming tea.
Kooo Architects created a multi-sensory house with tactile, pure supplies that contribute to the shop's soothing ambiance.
“By an built-in expertise of house and tea merchandise, this venture goals to change into a 'mountain getaway' the place individuals can escape from the busy metropolis and discover their internal peace,” defined the architects.
In an effort to include tea into the inside design, Kooo Architects collaborated with Beijing-based Onearthstudio to develop a “tea-earth brick” that’s used to clad 80 p.c of the shop's partitions.
Bricks are solid in a manufacturing unit utilizing a course of just like how earthen buildings are constructed. This low-carbon course of leads to an environmentally pleasant and non-toxic materials with a variety of pure colours.
Kooo Architects examined several types of soil and forms of tea to attain a variety of tones and textures for the bricks, whereas sustaining the required power of the fabric.
The leaves used are leftovers from tea manufacturing that will in any other case be thrown away as waste. Shredded tea leaves create a textured floor that may be seen up shut, whereas assembled bricks present pure tonal variations when seen from a distance.
The bricks for this venture had been produced with compact dimensions of 10 by 10 by three centimeters, making them appropriate for cladding partitions, doorways and furnishings.
“[The brick] it turns into the essential module for the format of the house and the size of the furnishings, in order that every thing is regulated cleanly and quietly to the attention,” mentioned Kooo Architects. “We additionally made a particular L-shaped module for the corners, in order that it wraps easily. “
A pink model of the bricks was chosen for a big quantity that types a focus within the house, whereas the encircling partitions characteristic a extra muted yellow tone that contributes to the sensation of leisure.
The bricks had been additionally used to create a lintel for the primary facade, with home windows and folding doorways permitting the store to be absolutely opened to the skin.
Internally, the house is organized into totally different practical areas, with a spacious gross sales space and the serving counter positioned inside the doorway.
Cabinets and counters at totally different heights are used to show the totally different merchandise, whereas drawers containing samples enable prospects to study several types of tea and scent the distinct aromas.
Tea ceremonies are held at a bar that’s decrease than typical espresso counters to supply a extra snug expertise. The bar and different furnishings components are lined in wooden with sanded edges, which contribute to the pure appear and feel of the house.
To the rear of the store is a personal lounge space and a VIP tea room within the form of a conventional tea room with an uncovered sloping ceiling. Accessed via a darker prep space, the naturally lit house is softened by making use of textured plaster to the partitions and ceiling.
When the shop is ultimately overhauled — as retail interiors solely final about three to 5 years — the bricks will be taken down and reworked to be used in future shops or returned to nature.
Earth-Tea Bricks have been shortlisted within the Sustainable Constructing Merchandise class on the Dezeen Awards 2024, alongside tasks together with pure stone bricks that had been used to create a short lived shelter in central London.
Kooo Architects was based in 2015 by Ayaka and Shinya Kojima and has places of work in Tokyo and Beijing. His earlier tasks embody a lean lodge with cut-out balconies in central Tokyo and a lodge in rural China that’s designed to enrich the encircling vernacular structure.
Pictures is by Keishin Horikoshi.