TEMP combines timber and granite to design ajia teahouse in a chinese national park

located in xixi wetland in the west part of hangzhou, china, beijing-based architecture studio TEMP has realized the ‘ajia teahouse‘. designed as a contemporary space for drinking traditional chinese tea, the new intervention also seeks to make the most of the surrounding national park. to achieve this goal, the project spatially explores how to bring the outdoor landscape inside, while forming layers of varying privacy and openness.

all images © jin weiqi

the larger indoor space is formed by placing private rooms for drinking tea, around which connecting stone paths are scattered. while they are walled off by bricks to create a certain level of privacy, wooden louvers and gaps within the walls offer a sense of openness. varying levels of transparencies have been conceived by TEMP, from heavy and solid to light and open, resulting in an architecture of many layers.

the teahouse is constructed using mostly simple materials, such as brick, timber, stones, and bamboo. bricks are layered vertically with certain parts left porous. wooden louvers slide or swing to open and close the private tearooms. a few pieces of furniture and a pavilion are made from local bamboo structured in tenon joints. the design also features an outdoor courtyard that is stepped into different heights of granite stairs and platforms. here pools of water and trees divide the larger space, creating shade for the seating areas and ultimately connecting the built environment with the surrounding nature.  

project info:

project name: ajia teahouse

location: xixi wetland, hangzhou, china

architect: TEMP

photography: jin weiqi

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom