Grass Garden

Grass Garden
Shadow Island | Cloud Corridor. Image © Xiaoqi

GRASS GARDEN

Jiejie Studio

ARCHITECTS
Jiejie Studio

MANUFACTURERS
北京永辉木业, 北京熙辰木业, 河北翔宇瓦业

PHOTOGRAPHS
Xiaoqi, Haolei Guan, Hui Liang, Guanyu Ming

AREA
100 m²

YEAR
2016

LOCATION
Dongcheng Qu, China

CATEGORY
Pavilion, Renovation

Text description provided by architect.

This project is a transformation of a courtyard to a tea house in a hutong in Beijing. The site is a rectangular courtyard with an area of about 100 square meters.

Grass Garden
Northeast Aerial View of Grass Garden. Image © Xiaoqi
Grass Garden
Grass Garden Entrance. Image © Hui Liang

Based on the corridor connecting all the buildings in Courtyard house in Beijing, the concerpt of “corridor space” is introduced: beside the four walls of courtyard, a new corridor space is added, with the door-facade of traditional form.

While opening the façade, it is a corridor; while closing the façade, it is a room space. Inside the corridor, intellectuals and tea guests, sitting around, drink tea and discuss together.

Grass Garden
Shadow Island | Sky Cave. Image © Xiaoqi
Grass Garden
Bamboo Space | Cloud Corridor | Linglong terrace. Image © Xiaoqi

In the courtyard, the tile on the floor is a metaphor of water, with corridor suspended above the water. the big space in the corridor could be used as room and small space as furniture.

According to the difference of sourouddings, with varied materials, scales, heights, and behavior modes, this corridor has many kinds of characters.

Grass Garden
Bamboo Space | Cloud Corridor | Linglong terrace |Sisi Dock. Image © Xiaoqi
Grass Garden
Cloud Corridor | Sisi dock. Image © Xiaoqi

From the courtyard entrance, through south, east and north wall, untill west wall, several spaces are organised: sisi dock on the south, linglong terrace, and yizhu corridor on the east, cloud corridor on the north, shadow island and sky cave house on the west.

Sisi dock is from “the book of songs”, describing the clearance of water. it is at the beginning of the courtyard, on the north of original brick wall with traditional motif, above the water outlet.

Grass Garden
Inside the Sky Cave. Image © Xiaoqi
Grass Garden

Inside the Bamboo Space. Image © Xiaoqi

Inside this corridor with glass façades, the guests could appreciate the circulation of running water.

Linglong terrace situates on the east, an independent platform with the length of 2.1meter and width of 1.5meter. with 3 sides sourounded by the water, and several stepping stones inside. Drinking tea on the terrace, and listening the the running brook.

On the west side of the east room, a 60-centimeter-wide open space was planted with bamboos. A corridor in front of these bamboo is for appreciating them.

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Grass Garden Entrance Corridor. Image © Hui Liang
Grass Garden
Bamboo Place, Inside Linglong terrace. Image © Xiaoqi

Cloud corridor is under the roof of north room. “with the tea as wine for the distingished guests, and cloud going and coming as chariot”. This corridor is mainly for the main tea ritual.

The shadow island in the northwest corner of the courtyard is surrounded by old locust trees.

In autumn, we can drink tea and watch the pagoda flowers falling into "water".

Grass Garden
Inside the Shadow Island. Image © Xiaoqi
Grass Garden
Inside the Shadow Island. Image © Haolei Guan

Or, when the courtyard is full of visitors, the door-facades putting together, the player could play chinese zither inside.

The sky cave house is built on top of the pagoda tree and between its branches.

Grass Garden
Cloud Corridor. Image © Xiaoqi
Grass Garden

It was the highest point of the coutyard and also the finish point. inside it we could overlook the entire courtyard, or explore the outside world.

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Night View. Image © Hui Liang
Grass Garden
Nigh View. Image © Hui Liang


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Bamboo Space | Cloud Corridor | Sisi Dock. Image © Xiaoqi
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Southwest Aerial View of Grass Garden. Image © Xiaoqi
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Grass Garden Detail. Image © Xiaoqi
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Cloud Corridor. Image © Haolei Guan
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Inside the Sisi Dock. Image © Haolei Guan
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Sky Cave Bending Seat Details. Image © Hui Liang
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Grass Garden Entrance, the door that opens up and down. Image © Xiaoqi
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Shadow Island. Image © Xiaoqi
Grass Garden
Shadow Island and Sky Cave Detail. Image © Xiaoqi
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Cloud Corridor Aerial View. Image © Xiaoqi
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Linglong terrace. Image © Xiaoqi
Grass Garden
Inside the Sisi dock, Blue brick wall. Image © Xiaoqi


Grass Garden
Concept Sketches. Image © Guanyu Ming


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Grass Garden Model
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Grass Garden Model


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Grass Garden Model
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Plan


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Section&Elevation