Our concept for the design of the Jingmai Unesco Heritage Museum and Tea Culture Center and Cellars is derived from a poetic observation of this unique place. The cultivated terraced tea fields centered around the earth; solid rock, rich red soil undulating topography as far as the eye can see, while ephemerous sea clouds of mist envelop the hills, evoking a sacred element to the light filled ancient tea forest of Jingmai mountain. The concept for the architecture inhabits a place between these two elements; Earth, Vapor and the Human Hand.
Our buildings therefore grow between the Earth and the Sky. The cellars designed to rest the tea in ‘stone caves’ that overlook terraced fields from which it is sourced. The large tea cellar buildings derive their shape from the central production unit of the Puer’h tea, which is a compressed tea disc. These ‘stone cave’ tea cellars are naturally ventilated through a series of mechanically operated shutters that operate as needed creating the ideal eco environment for the tea as it ages over time, increasing the pleasure of its taste and the value associated with it.
Inspired by the cultivation of the tea trees, we developed a material and color palette derived from the seasonal hues of tea growth and the tints of the steeped tea itself. Our aim through design is to intensify our connections with particularities of the earth, the ever changing moods of the sky, the human element imprinted and carved from that of the people. Light and material are an essential element of this intensification and our hope is we provide a magical platform where people can come closer to the magic of this natural ecological and cultural wonderland.
Our design is merely a vehicle to facilitate this connection between people and places through light.
Our concept for the design of the Jingmai Unesco Heritage Museum and Tea Culture Center and Cellars is derived from a poetic observation of this unique place. The cultivated terraced tea fields centered around the earth; solid rock, rich red soil undulating topography as far as the eye can see, while ephemerous sea clouds of mist envelop the hills, evoking a sacred element to the light filled ancient tea forest of Jingmai mountain. The concept for the architecture inhabits a place between these two elements; Earth, Vapor and the Human Hand.
Our buildings therefore grow between the Earth and the Sky. The cellars designed to rest the tea in ‘stone caves’ that overlook terraced fields from which it is sourced. The large tea cellar buildings derive their shape from the central production unit of the Puer’h tea, which is a compressed tea disc. These ‘stone cave’ tea cellars are naturally ventilated through a series of mechanically operated shutters that operate as needed creating the ideal eco environment for the tea as it ages over time, increasing the pleasure of its taste and the value associated with it.
Inspired by the cultivation of the tea trees, we developed a material and color palette derived from the seasonal hues of tea growth and the tints of the steeped tea itself. Our aim through design is to intensify our connections with particularities of the earth, the ever changing moods of the sky, the human element imprinted and carved from that of the people. Light and material are an essential element of this intensification and our hope is we provide a magical platform where people can come closer to the magic of this natural ecological and cultural wonderland.
Our design is merely a vehicle to facilitate this connection between people and places through light.