A House with a Ryūrei Style Tea Room / Takashi Okuno Architectural Design Office

Architects: Takashi Okuno Architectural Design Office
Location: Japan
Architect In Charge: Takashi Okuno
Area: 234.0 m2
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Shigeo Ogawa

Text description provided by the architects. A House with a Ryūrei Style Tea Room (tea ceremony performed while seated in chairs) A quiet residential neighborhood near the mountains of Matsuyama.

A historical area where a retreat for the lord of the Matsuyama Domain used to be located. Our client grew up with much exposure to tea ceremonies.

In order to ensure continued use of the tea room even in their old age, the space is designed to allow guests to receive tea while sitting in chairs, and to have orderly traffic paths. The main theme in designing this home was how best to let the living area and the tea room share the space.

The tea room can be altered depending on need. Partition it off with shōji (paper-covered wooden lattice panels), and you have a small room the size of 4.5 tatami mats. Remove the shōji, and the space becomes a large room with chairs. By lowering or raising the blinds, you can create either a hallway or extra space for seating guests. The kitchen and the tea room have been arranged in close proximity to each other in order to further enhance convenience.

The living and dining area is an expansive space thanks to the exposed rafters under a wide roof. The high ceiling connects the space to the second floor. There are high side windows on the second floor for ventilation. Even during months that require no air conditioning or on days with very little wind, the gravity ventilation creates air that flows through the space.

How best to integrate tradition with a modern lifestyle. While staying faithful to agreed terms, we contemplate spaces that can be used continuously for years to come.

We cannot help but feel a renewed sense of determination to meet such challenges, each time we hear from our client about new connections made in the tea room.