
Japanese architect Terunobu Fujimori has created a tea ceremony pavilion on the grounds of the Hombroich Museum Island in Germany. The structure, called Ein Stein Haus, is inspired by the concept of Zen Buddhism.
A Japanese architect promotes amazing "tea houses" that grow on trees. Fujimori builds poetic spaces for tea ceremonies right among the branches. This time, the 73-year-old artist created an example of ecological modern architecture in the village of Hombroich, which once housed a NATO missile base. In 1994, this land became part of an art project by collector Karl-Heinrich Müller.

The tree house is three meters high, stands on stilts, and is made of black robinia wood. You can climb up 19 steps of a narrow metal staircase. The black color of the facade is the result of yakisugi, a special technology for charring wood. "The traditional Japanese method, in which wood is smoked under fire for several minutes, is called yakisugi and is typical of Fujimori's work. This protects the wood from bad weather, damage, and insects," says Frank Böhm, the curator of the project.

The pavilion is almost oval in plan; its walls are lined with oak. The shape of the building makes the roof appear concave. Tea houses usually have tatami mats on the floor, but here visitors are invited to sit in a semicircle on organically shaped benches, while tea is prepared on a table in front of them.
“When designing a tea pavilion, you need to create a world that is different from everyday life. The main thing is to allow the body and spirit to float above the ground, even if this undermines architectural canons,” says the author.


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