Tea House

Fujimori, Terunobu [Architect] and Hayatsu, Takeshi [Architect] (2017) Tea House. The Japanese House: Architecture and Life after 1945. .

Abstract

Japanese architect and/ historian Terunobu Fujimori designed a teahouse for the Japanese House exhibition at the Barbican Centre. It The Tea House isforms one one half of the two 1:1 installations unique to the Barbican Centre, specially commissioned for the London show, alongside together with the a 1:1 replica of Moriyama House designed by Ryue Nishizawa. Fujimori maintains that buildings can be made by non-professional people and the teahouse follows this principle. It was constructed by the hands of students and tutors from Kingston University, under the guidance of the London based Japanese architect Takeshi Hayatsu. The exterior cladding utilises Yakisugi, charred timber produced using the traditional Japanese charring technique. The charring workshop was held at Weald and Downland living museum in West Sussex in January 2017, organised by Kingston University as part of their pedagogy. The structure was prefabricated at the University’s workshop. The bronze cast handles, ceramic lampshades, hearth, vase and plywood stools were also handmade by students from Kingston’s architecture, product and furniture design courses. Unlike the Moriyama House, which is a replica of the original house in Tokyo, theThe Fujimori teahouse, is an original commission specially fdesigned for the Barbican's exhibition space, forming aforms part of a garden, a large garden. The garden is an interpretation of the a traditional Japanese tea garden, representing the traditional form and arrangement closely linked with the ritual of the tea ceremony. The Fujimori teahouse, an original commission for the Barbican exhibition, forms part of a garden, an interpretation of a traditional Japanese tea garden. The garden represents the traditional form and arrangement closely linked with the ritual of the tea ceremony. The 16th century tea master Sen No Rikyu established three principles which Fujimori follows. A small, confined entry way, a small interior space, and a hearth containing fire in the room. The gGuests to the Fujimori designed teahouse are invited by the host to enter into the garden, through a gate clad in the charred timber, dividing the outer and inner territories of the garden. A After going through the cubby hole of the gate, the narrow path leads the guests to arrive a water bowl and a lantern to wash their hands before entering into the teahouse. When reaching the the teahouse, which is elevated on chestnut stilts and oak beams, guests are asked to take off their shoes and enter from underneath via a ladder. The Fujimori teahouse is an elevated room on the chestnut stilts and oak beams. The room interior is 3 x 3 m, the size of four and half tatami mats, which is a typical size tearoom standardised about 400 years ago in Japan. The roomIt is designed to accommodate six people, sitsitting on the plastered floor, circling around thea central hearth set within the floor structure. The 16th century tea master Sen No Rikyu established three principles which Fujimori follows. A small and confined entry way, a smallness of the inside space, and a hearth to contain fire in the room. The guests are asked to take their shoes off and enter into the teahouse from underneath via a ladder. There is a shoe box in the room to put your shoes in, and sit around the ceramic hearth centred in the room's floor. The Fujimori teahouse avoids does not following a certain Japanese traditions, which aresuch as the use of a tatami mat floor and, shoji paper screens, and the obvious presence of Tokonoma, an alcove for ornamental artefacts. The Instead guests sit on a plastered floor, face facing a a corner of the room, decorated with charcoal on the white plaster by Fujimori by himself, wherea ceramic vase andand a lampshade with a concentration of charcoal ornament on the white plaster wall, which was decorated by Fujimori by himself. made by the students lighting up a living flower in the room. It is the Fujimori’s ethosmaintains that the buildings couldcan be made by non professionalnon-professional people and the teahouse follows thatthis principle. The entire teahouse It was made by the hands of students and tutors from Kingston University, under the guidance of Fujimori. The exterior cladding utilises yakisugi, the charred timber produced using the traditional Japanese charring technique. The charring workshop was held at Weald and Downland living museum in West Sussex in January 2017, organised by Kingston University. The structure was prefabricated in theat Kingston University’s workshop and installed by the 18 post graduate architecture students and their tutors. The bronze cast handles, ceramic lamp shades, hearth, vase and plywood stools are were also handmade by the students from the Kingston’s architecture, product and furniture design courses. product and furniture design course. The bronze cast handles are produced by the architecture students. It is the Fujimori’s ethos that the building could be made by non professional people and the teahouse follows that principle.

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