Zhao Zhao tea lounge
合風蒼飛設計工作室 & 張育睿建築師事務所
Zhao Zhao Tea Lounge itself is an old house of 40 years with reinforced structure, located in a quite alley and facing the south. The owner, with more than 30 years of experience as he has been immersed in tea culture since childhood, wants to share the wonderful Taiwanese tea with more diverse groups of people in different ways. That’s why he came up with the idea of having a tea appreciation space where Taiwanese tea culture can extend its roots.
兆兆茶苑是一棟40年的老房子，位處一幽靜小巷弄內，結構為一棟加強磚造的老房子，坐北朝南。業主從小浸淫於茶葉工作中，至今累積了30餘年經驗，希望能將台灣茶的好，以不同的方式讓更多人及更多的族群了解，因此有了設置一處平時可以品茗之所的想法，希望將台灣茶業文化深化。
Taking into consideration of the owner’s intention, we propose to set up tea roasting area in the first floor, where guests would be enticed by the fragrance as they observe master tea-making. There is a tea place right next to the roasting area, as guests can rest amid lingering smell of charcoal baking and tea. To introduce more nature into the space, we open up the once-closed backyard and plant more trees in front and behind the house. Sipping a cup of tea here would then become a ceremony of pampering the five senses, from beautiful sights to pleasant experiences of taste, touch, sound and smell.
考量到這座茶苑的設立初心，我們提出了將烘茶空間設計在一樓，讓來客在街上行經時便能聞到淡淡茶香，入門後親眼見到師傅焙茶與製茶的過程，烘茶時滿室茶香與炭焙味，我們在烘茶區旁設置一處茶席，並將原本封閉的後院打開，前後院均植樹綠化，期待在空間中能面對自然，砌一杯茶，五感滿足。我們希望能夠帶給使用者不只是視覺上的美學，也期盼能在這個空間中經驗到味覺、觸覺、視覺、嗅覺的美好體驗。
“Change, Flow”
“Change” is the theme of interior design here, reflecting the experiences in high-altitude tea gardens, where the clouds, fogs, lights and shadows, fauna and flora are always pure albeit everchanging. Visitors are here to indulge the peace of mind and enriching feelings. On the old walls, we leverage hand craftsmanship of “polishing”, “carving” and “knocking” to mimic different textures to approach nature; the walls are mottled, uneven, and filled with pores, preserving the marks of time with visual and tactile triggers. With the sun and the air flowing in through the big windows, the walls of various textures show various quality and feelings as if “changeable”. It’s a salute to nature, revealing the essence of the old house— a bare space without over decoration. Excessive material and decorations would compromise the visual impression and quality of the space, diluting the essence of the space. Therefore, under the prerequisite of “carefree and quite appreciation of tea”, we choose “humble room” as the theme for the space and impressions. All materials we use follow the idea of “tea can be appreciated in different forms, but always in calm”— unpolished, locally accessible, user friendly and sourced from nature.
“變動、流動”
此空間的設計主軸建立在”變動”上，來自於在山上茶區的體驗及觀察自然的經驗。山上的景色是不斷的變化，雲、霧、光影、花草樹木的顏色與姿態，總是在變動，環境的緩變與純粹，置身其中，反而給予人一份寧靜且豐富的感受。因此我們在老舊牆面上以”磨”、”鑿”、”敲”等手工工法製造出各種接近自然狀態的不同質感：斑駁的、凹凸不平的、孔隙豐富的各種不同質感，同時保留了老屋因為歲月留下的斑駁質感，呈現出視覺、觸覺豐富的表面，搭配大面開窗引進陽光與空氣，光線與氣流打在不同質感的牆面上，呈現”會變動”質感與感受，藉此向自然致意，也呈現老屋最自然不佳裝飾的”裸空間”的本質質感。過多的材料與裝飾反而會影響空間的視覺與質感，模糊空間本質，因此在以”自由自在的靜心品茶”的這個前提下，我們以”陋室”為整體氛圍與質感的主題，體現”用茶，不拘逆形式，心靜即可”的概念。將所有的材料以不刻意雕琢的狀態下呈現，選用我們在地容易取得、親民、自然得材料來表現空間。
”Transparency, See-through”
Transparency is another key idea in this project. We leverage big windows and the atrium to let the sun and air in, as the texture of light flow along the wall with the breeze, creating solid yet enriched indoor scenes, another salute to nature. We apply materials of different levels of transparency in the space to shape light and landscape, for example laser-cut hold boards, veils, glasses, etc. to blur the boundaries of outdoor gardens and thus reconnect. Space here is an extension of our perspective to nature, as we can feel the sun or see the breeze in the dancing shadows of the tree. The biggest retrofit spot in the project is the staircase. It was once a traditional concrete stairway with several flights which actually blocked the view. As we focus on transparency and would like to have natural light in, we decided to open an atrium on the third floor. To go with it, apparently we need an elegant spiral staircase that resembles a tree with dangling hole boards and transforms the space upward.
“透明、穿透”
透明感是我們在此案另一個最重要的設定，運用大面開窗、天井引進陽光與空氣，讓光的粒子隨著氣流輕拂在不同質感的牆面上，呈現安穩又豐富的室內風景，藉此向自然致意。我們希望將可視的”透明感”將光線與景觀帶入室內，因此運用程度不同的透明材料來呈現空間，例如雷射切割的洞洞板、紗簾、玻璃等等。藉以模糊我們與外部自然院落的界線並重新連結，空間作為我們看待自然的方式與延伸，即使居於室內空間也能感受到陽光或是透過樹影的搖曳見到風。此間最大的硬體改造在於樓梯的形式，原始樓梯為混凝土折梯，但由於原始樓梯遮蔽過多的視線影響上述的透明感，我們希望引天光入室，因此在三樓頂開了一處天井，在這樣的前提下，一個具備通透感與姿態的旋梯是最適合的設計，旋梯的姿態如同大樹，搭配向緞帶一樣的洞洞板，讓樓梯能轉化為空間中向上的優美造型。
In addition, we use yakisugi (burned fir) for the outdoor parts in line with the “roast” theme. “Burned” is a sensation that can extend to and remind us of tea, as the fire element is inevitable for tea making. Yikisugi is common in oriental architecture for it well presents the texture of dried wood, and therefore it is a perfect fit for tea rooms when used to decorate the exterior. Tea culture is ubiquitous in Taiwan as it is a vital part of lifestyle here. Tea is used to welcome guests, find our own peace of mind, and serve to unite people. Therefore, we would like to highlight the tea culture in Taiwan through our design, that tea is for everyone and not any exclusive prestige. “A cup of tea purifies the mind” is our central idea for this space. Tea drinking is not deemed as virtue that may light up the room, as the old saying goes, but we are more than willing to create aesthetics for beautiful minds with tea in this humble room.
另外，在戶外選用”燒杉”作為主要建材的用意也是搭配”碳焙"的主題，讓"燒"這個感受能夠延伸並聯想到茶葉，因為所有的茶葉都與"火"有關係，燒杉能夠呈現原始東方建築文化處理實木乾燥的質感，時常出現在東方傳統建築中，非常適合茶文化空間，因此選其為主要外飾材料。茶的文化在台灣深入生活，俯拾即是，它是待客之道、也是自身靜心的途徑、更是團聚的一種方式。因此我們希望我們設計的茶空間能夠強調這樣的台灣茶文化，而非高不可攀，”砌一杯茶，以此淨心”是我們的對此空間的中心思想，雖不到”斯是陋室，惟吾德馨”的程度，但希望呈現身居陋室卻自得其樂的美感與美學。
”Mindfulness, Now”
Being mindful and live in the now is my ideal for teahouses in Taiwan. Tea drinking and tea ceremonies are ways to approach and experience nature. Tea comes from nature, and as we make tea, we should be able to enjoy nature. Presenting the space in a natural way is the most important element in designing a tea house like this one. Humbleness is very close to the spirit and culture of tea in Taiwan. Humble is not necessarily just “inexpensive”; rather, it is being able to enjoy the moment under whatever circumstance. Tea brings peace and exchange; it is a way of living and living culture.
”靜心與當下”
”靜心、當下”是我心中屬意的台灣茶屋型態。喝茶與泡茶也是接近自然體驗自然的一種方式，茶葉來自大自然，也因此在享受砌茶的過程中，應要能夠體驗到”自然”。也因此如何自然的呈現空間本質則是設計茶屋時最重要的一環。上述的"陋室"則是我認為最貼近台灣茶的精神與文化，而不是強調在”不貴”這件事情上，而是即使身居陋室，怡然自得的喝茶文化。讓喝茶是靜心、是交流，是一種不刻意的生活方式與文化。