Gold Interior Space and Exhibition Design · 2020
Zens Teatime Showroom
by Jiayao Huang
- A' Design Award 2020 Gold Winner in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Awarded April 15, 2020
- CLIENT: Ici Architecture
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 16,577
- Verification code 47F674495C · Verify this award
About Zens Teatime Showroom
Zens Teatime is a showroom designed for the display of tea related products. The design draws on elements of East Asian architecture, using natural materials, spatial sequence, light and shadow. Visitors may enter freely, sit down, rest and drink tea while experiencing the products on display. The main frame is built from square iron, and the walls are formed from nine thousand pre-made bamboo poles joined to the frame by components that can be put together and inserted. All materials can be recycled, so the showroom can be dismantled and rebuilt in other locations.
Jiayao Huang's Zens Teatime Showroom emerges from a rich lineage of spatial design that honors the contemplative traditions of tea culture while engaging contemporary exhibition practice with remarkable sensitivity and material intelligence. The installation demonstrates how natural materials, specifically bamboo arranged in continuous horizontal courses, can transcend decorative application to become the fundamental architectural proposition, simultaneously defining enclosure, modulating light, and establishing psychological atmosphere. The curvilinear geometry of the bamboo screens creates a gentle choreography of space that guides visitors through a sequence of intimate chambers, each calibrated to support the quiet rituals of hospitality and reflection that tea ceremony embodies across numerous cultural traditions. The designer's decision to leave the bamboo in its natural chromatic range, spanning from pale straw to deep amber, produces subtle tonal variations that animate the walls with organic vitality while maintaining visual coherence. Within this material envelope, the furniture selection demonstrates careful restraint: contemporary pieces with clean geometries and neutral upholstery defer to the architectural narrative rather than competing for attention. The pendant lamp serves as both functional illumination and compositional anchor, its conical form creating a vertical counterpoint to the relentless horizontal rhythm of the bamboo courses. Perhaps most evocative is the treatment of the secondary chamber, visible through a precisely framed aperture, where projected light creates the suggestion of filtered daylight moving through imagined foliage. This theatrical gesture introduces temporal dimension and natural reference within the controlled exhibition environment, inviting visitors to imagine the showroom as a threshold between commercial display and meditative retreat. The work invites consideration of how material authenticity and spatial poetry can transform commercial environments into spaces of genuine cultural meaning.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The design of this showroom is rooted in the elements extracted from oriental architecture. It presents tea drinking spaces that can arouse people's emotional connectivity by using natural materials, spatial sequence, light and shadow. Visitors can experience ZENS’ products by sitting down to rest and drink tea. The whole design conveys the concept of the brand: poetic lifestyle, sustainable values, adding modern elements while preserving traditions to maintain cultural diversity.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- plan： 12000mmx8000mm
height： 5000mm - Production Technology
- Hot square iron is applied for the establishment of the main structural framework. The bamboo pole of primary color after the special treatment is applied as the material for the wall. The components which can be put together and inserted are utilized for the active connections of the nine thousand pre-made bamboo poles and the metal framework. All the materials can be recycled for the convenience of reconstruction eleswhere after the dismantlement.
- Design Challenge
- As this project needs to be presented in different countries, there is a very high requirement for the technical treatment of natural materials, the convenience of establishment and the repeatability of establishment with the consideration of elements such as regional climate difference, insect prevention and fire resistance etc. In addition, only two months of time are provided for the design to the international transportation and establishment of the materials.
- Project Duration
- This project was started for the design in Guangzhou, China in October, 2018. It was completed with the establishment in Paris, France in January, 2019 and had been exhibited for three days on MAISON & OBJET PARIS. After that it was exhibited in many other countries and regions.
- Operation Flow
- The designer hopes to provide an open approachable space for the visitors to enter,watch and sit down free at will. They may also have an interaction with the passer-bys through the viewing frame. The architectural symbols with the sense of the east bring people into the poetical scene. The warm and natural materials have become the leisurely keynote of the space. While the life-like soft light and shadow enhances the sense of spirit in the space.
- Research
- To highlight the exhibits and nature of the design, the designer did not contribute excessive decorations. Instead the original color, texture and shape of the materials are preserved as much as possible. With the delicately designed light, the unique surface texture and lighting effect are presented，which adds emotions to the space.
- Inspiration
- ZENS is a brand originated from the east, it promotes the poetical life to the world. Starting from the concept of brand, the designer brings the natural aesthetics from the east to those who crave for the approach to life and themselves.
On the aspect of function, the designer and the entrusting part have reached a consensus: the exhibition of the products is integrated with the dimensional atmosphere and scene that are consistent with the concept of the products to bring the immersive experience to the visitors who can use the products free at will.
Colors of Zens Teatime Showroom
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