Kengo Kuma & Associates

Beijing Tea House

Beijing Tea House
©Photo.Koji Fujii / Nacasa&Partners Inc

Beijing Tea House

Kengo Kuma and Associates

LOCATION
Beijing, China

AREA
0 sqft - 1000 sqft

YEAR
2014

STATUS
Built

PHOTOS
Photo.Koji Fujii / Nacasa&Partners Inc(8)

TYPE
Hospitality + Sport › Restaurant Wellness/Spa

Kengo Kuma and Associates renovated a Siheyuan-style building located exactly in front of the East Gate of the Forbidden Palace (at the heart of Beijing), using hollow blocks of polyethylene.

Beijing Tea House
©Photo.Koji Fujii / Nacasa&Partners Inc
Beijing Tea House
©Photo.Koji Fujii / Nacasa&Partners Inc

Four types of blocks were produced by rotational molding to be joined and stuck up, as the structure of the extended part.

The main structure for the city of Beijing is masonry bricks. Blocks made of polyethylene are in this sense a modern version of masonry.

Beijing Tea House
©Photo.Koji Fujii / Nacasa&Partners Inc
Beijing Tea House
©Photo.Koji Fujii / Nacasa&Partners Inc

It proves high performance in insulation and passes through light to create a gentle space of Zen, just as the paper did used for Siheyuan in the past.


Beijing Tea House
©Photo.Koji Fujii / Nacasa&Partners Inc
Beijing Tea House
©Photo.Koji Fujii / Nacasa&Partners Inc
Beijing Tea House
©Photo.Koji Fujii / Nacasa&Partners Inc

Kengo Kuma & Associates
T +81 3 3401 7721 F +81 3 3401 7778
Kengo Kuma & Associates
2 Chome-24-8 Minamiaoyama, Minato City, Tokyo 107-0062, Japan