Anji Sight-viewing Platform and Tea House // Hatch Architects

Text description provided by the architects.

According to the local conditions, the designers created a teahouse and two pavilions in the tea field in Anji, Zhejiang Province, which has both the cohesion of enclosing and centripetal, and the openness of opening to the surrounding. This project is located in ten thousand acres of tea fields, among rural landscape.This tea house was a storage room before.

The designer transformed it into a tea house through a tiny intervention, and used a lot of local traditional bamboo and wood materials, which harmoniously integrated into the natural environment, meanwhile adding fun to the peaceful countryside. The tea house is partially hollowed, allowing the skylight come inside, and the huge floor-to-ceiling window on wall brings a wide view of the endless tea fields.

Outside the tea house, the design of two open viewing platforms on the top of the tea mountain are inspired by the villagers’ proudest product, white tea.

The roof of one pavilion resembles a leaf and falls lightly in the field. With the meaning “Leaves brought wealthiness to the people”, it also carries the deep emotional sustenance in this area. The roof of another pavilion looks like a floating cloud, providing a shelter for tea farmers and visitors.In line with the geographical form of the tea garden terraces, the designer used the embedded method to shape the declining tea house.

While meeting the functional requirements, the material and shape selection weakens the abruptness of the building, and makes it integrate with the surrounding environment. The interior of the tea house was made into an earth color “cave”, and the bar counter and stairs inside winds up, full of soft and smooth texture.

One of the most prominent highlights of the tea house is the long panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows facing the tea garden, occupying a whole wall, like a unique viewing frame.

When the weather is good, the 12-meter-wide horizontal folding floor-to-ceiling windows can be fully opened, allowing the guests to enjoy the beautiful view thoroughly, with breeze coming in sometimes. Anji, Zhejiang province is rich in bamboo and has been known as the bamboo town since ancient times. Based on the natural solution of ecological protection and restoration, both pavilions are made of local bamboo and wood, which harmoniously integrated into the natural environment, meanwhile adding fun to the peaceful countryside.

Through the deep communication with local craftsmen, the design team learned about materials characteristics and bamboo construction techniques, explored new ways of bamboo construction and application.

We hope that through our simple attempts, we will once again awaken our attention to traditional bamboo art..

Anji Sight-viewing Platform and Tea House Gallery