Black Tea House

PLACE
The black tea house reflects on the water's surface at the southern edge of a generous garden. The expansive and exceptionally cultivated garden seamlessly transitions into a pine forest, and its southern border, formed by a serpentine pond with grassy banks, creates a horizon view from the adjacent family house. The tea house, located on its shore, has become a natural part of the carefully modeled scenery. Guests and hosts can enjoy beautiful views towards the forest and the water's surface in the foreground from the tea house. It is a place for meeting friends and family, a place for a cup of good tea.

TEA HOUSE
Inside the tea house, two dimensions of perception of the surrounding environment are offered: the dimension of views that takes place while looking into the mature garden and the forest. The second dimension is provided by a partial or full enclosure in the interior space, into which light enters from above, creating a play of sunlight beams in the golden tube of the skylight. The entire interior is capped with a ceiling shaped like a pyramid, transitioning into a cone with a partially circular base that turns into a square. The geometry of the ceiling is created by interwoven sisal ropes. The fireplace is located in the middle of the room, from which one can step onto a spacious veranda made of larch planks, offering a unique experience of observing the water's surface. The interior space can be separated from the exterior by several sliding doors that can connect the interior with the surrounding landscape on three sides. Next to the interwoven ceiling, another important motif of the interior space is the rounded earthen wall, into which a "tokonama" or a niche for flowers is cleverly incorporated. This niche consists of three bamboo vases that extend into the free space behind the earthen wall. This space is accessible from the outside not only for changing water but also for potentially storing tea utensils. The house is closely connected to the garden landscape, which is also achieved by a green roof with grasses and colorful succulent flowers.
The entire structure is enveloped in black-burned larch planks, from which the name “Black Tea House” is derived.