Tea Story

This project is located in the Siming Mountain，Yuyao. The original building was an old tea factory in the 1970s. When the designer first came into contact with this project, only left an ancient well, a remnant wall, three and a half -floor old staircases, and part of the buildings of first floor.At the strong request of the designer, these old building structures were retained and new buildings were built on this basis.This design attempts to combine the old with the new and leave traces of time.

The overall design is respecting the original building, with some exposed area are protected by glass to avoid wind and rain.These parts are like art treasures in the museum.Several skylights are opened above the landscape area to bring in light, so that the plants on the stone wall can flourish and bring light to the dark areas.The left side of the old staircases is divided into entertainment areas such as landscape area, swimming pool, bar and barbecue area, while the right side is quiet areas such as guest rooms and tearooms.The whole area of the project is circulated.With reference to Chinese landscape, people feel like make a sightseeing tour when walking inside and outside the building.

In terms of materials, the gate and doorplate stone are made of bamboo and stone from nearby mountain.A large number of local bamboo, plants and flowers are used in this project. Old wood are reprocessed and made into wood veneer in some areas.

Through communication with the owner, the designer learned a lot about tea knowledge and culture，and took tea culture as the theme in the furnishings, placing a large number of teapots, teacups and many old tea-related objects. Various traditional Chinese objects such as tables, chairs,wood lockers and water vat were collected in nearby villages and towns to bring the local flavor and culture to the whole project.

As Ieoh Ming Pei said“Building has life.Though it is clotting. But there is humanistic thought on it.”