tree tea house
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Japanese architect, Terunobu Fujimori, has designed a tree-tea-house called Takasugi-an (tea-house built too high) on a family owned plot in Chino, Nagano (Japan).
Two chestnut trunks without roots support the house, and the only way to reach it is a freestanding ladder that increases the game’s sense. There’s no safety net and you can reach it just if you trust in the architect and if you are brave. In the middle of your climbing to the top, you have to take off your shoes. Inside is padded with plaster and the flat is made of bamboo mats, and the surface corresponds of four and a half tatami (mat used in Japanese architecture as modules). [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SvZA0JbOYw] From the only window -that reminds to the traditional kakejiku (a scroll painting or calligraphy mounted usually with silk fabric edges on a flexible backing) a characteristic element of the Japanese tea-houses- people can see the surrounding landscape, its seasonal changes, and Chino transformation. Inside is very simple and rational typical of the Japanese architecture, the absence of any object is planned, to increase the meditation. The water for the tea is boiled on a fire, that warms the habitation also in the winter days. Usually they prepare Matcha tea and for sure two of the four fundamental principles of Japanese ceremony are realized: “Wa”, the harmony between people and nature, harmony of tools and the way they are used, and “Jaku” tranquility and peace of your mind, it’s a consequence of the other three principles (Wa, Kei and Sei). More pics in the gallery below. Pics by Björn Lundquist and Rachel Harmon |
