Wang De-Chuan Tea Salon is located at Hangzhou West Lake, a place with a rich cultural atmosphere. The architecture itself has strong Eastern historical vocabulary; the site is quiet and beautiful, but several issues prevent the architecture from showing its identity. First, surrounding trees and bushes make it hard for tourists to enter the site. Second, the architecture lacks an identity at night; moreover, the architecture is not on surrounding lines of motion, fragmenting the line of motion. Finally, precious Eastern vocabulary of the architecture is covered and concealed.

The spirit of tea ceremony is an ancient Eastern culture, and after analyzing the site, we hope to prolong the architecture’s vocabulary and further bring back its essence, allowing Eastern elements which were intentionally covered, such as wooden beams and truss, to be reborn. Lights guided into the line of motion open up the originally closed spaces in front and behind the architecture, including light at the height of a person (light emitting through the trees and bushes attracts tourists from afar), at the lowest viewpoint from a standing position (guiding the direction forward), at the highest viewpoint from a standing position (bright points on the architectural skin provide guidance), and at the viewpoint of a sitting position (indoor lighting corresponds to each window frame, lowering the height to create circulation in the space). These lights allow the architecture to build a relationship with its front and back yards. Spatial circulation, architectural skin and the form of window frames guide the line of motion and cause people and the environment to be linked to the
architecture.

With regards to material, Eastern beams and trusses originally in the architecture are retained. Dialogue is created between the environment, architecture and indoor space via earth bricks along West Lake. The relationship between materials and the architecture creates a clear identity.