A vacant factory space in Shanghai’s Moganshan Road Art District was gutted so as to convert it into a Chinese teahouse made up of private rooms where friends can gather to chat, socialise and enjoy the rituals of tea. Linehouse architects stacked rooms on a green terrazzo landscape by shifting roof lines and floating staircases, so that boxy, polygon-shaped rooms offer tea drinkers both openness and privacy. Some rooms are enclosed with smoked oak panels on the inside and brushed, darkened stainless steel outside, while others are fully glazed for the view. The lower rooms feature combinations of walls and glass panels. The wooden tables and chairs and recessed or sunken seating are cosy and contemporary, and a large communal area for events and exhibitions is in the centre of the ground floor.

Linehouse is an architecture and interior design practice established in 2013 by Alex Mok and Briar Hickling with offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Each Linehouse project offers a strong design narrative as well as an element of whimsy and voyeurism, creating a unique spatial experience.

Category

Environmental and Spatial Design

Project name

Tingtai Teahouse

Company

LINEHOUSE SHANGHAI LIMITED

Origin of company

The Mainland