Tzu-Han Hsieh

Located at High Street Kensington, this project proposes a Japanese teahouse as part of the recently established Japan House cultural centre. Sitting within a new rooftop Japanese garden, it will occupy the site of the old Kensington Roof Garden.

This teahouse is for people who seek a moment of tranquillity in the hectic life of London. The visitor is taken on a journey, from the chaotic street to a lift situated centrally within the main building of Japan House that transports them up towards the rooftop. Upon arrival, the visitor is immersed within a rich bamboo forest which leads to the teahouse; the chaos is forgotten step-by-step as the visitor walks along a meandering stone footpath.

To maintain the central tenets of Zen philosophy which lie behind traditional Japanese teahouses, the design of the interior space is based on those original principles and they are reinterpreted in its theory. Once within the teahouse, the visitor is surrounded by natural and rustic materials such as bamboo and Japanese cypress to further the sense of calm.