Sichang-Road Teahouse

Kunshan, China

First Floor Plan

Drawing © Pu Miao

Section

Drawing © Pu Miao

Northeast corner of the building, the intermediate pool and the river

Photo © Pu Miao

The main entrance in the middle part of the west elevation

Photo © Pu Miao

From the main entrance looking toward the river

Photo © Pu Miao

Sunken tearooms and the corridor

Photo © Pu Miao

Looking toward the large tearoom from the sunken tearooms

Photo © Pu Miao

Southeast view of the building

Photo © Pu Miao

South elevation

Photo © Pu Miao

Sunken tearooms

Photo © Pu Miao

Restaurants, Bars, Clubs

Architects: Pu Miao

Location: Sichang Road at Ma-an-shan Road, Kunshan, China
Year: 2007
Client: Kunshan City Construction Investment and Development Co. Ltd.
Team: Pu Miao
Engineering: Shanghai Landscape Architecture Design Institute

Located between an urban street and a preserved river, the design of the teahouse explored ways to reintroduce nature into modern Chinese urban life. To ensure that users can have an intimate relationship with the river, part of the tea rooms are made into sunken glass pods surrounded by water. The glass pods can be opened so people may touch the water. The water level is stabilized by an intermediate pool which appears to merge with the river when seen from the inside of the teahouse. The design also experimented on a double curved version of “flat curve”--a form often seen in traditional Chinese architecture-- with a low-tech and low-cost method.

Publication
Architectural Journal (China, 1/2009) and book Architecture 09’08’ : Works from the Forum on Chinese Contemporary Architecture (2009), Atlas of Contemporary Chinese Architecture (2014)

Exhibited at the "Water--Curse or Blessing!? Encouraging Architectural Projects in Asia-Pacific", an exhibition and symposium at the Aedes East-International Forum for Contemporary Architecture, Berlin, Germany, 2011