Reviving Tea Culture: The Architectural Marvel of Tai Cha Store

Mei-Lin Hsu's Award-Winning Design Breathes New Life into Traditional Tea Culture

Located alongside a mountain road, the store's design draws inspiration from the lantern style of Taiwan Pavilion of World Expo in Shanghai. Hsu presents the principle of "organic tea species", with the underground floors expressing the idea of tree roots, housing rooms for processing, examining, storing, packaging, and developing.

The ground floor embodies tea display, tasting, and checkout counter. This is where visitors can try high-quality teas and appreciate the pleasant tea-culture environment. The space, measuring 150 square meters, is designed to be a place of interaction where people can drink tea on the seats outside the building while admiring the beauty of the architecture.

The second floor, designed for the client's family only, demonstrates the idea of "tree leaves", including the master bedroom, baby room, and study room. This is where the client contemplates business strategy and develops new techniques. The L-shape fish pool outside the building symbolizes the vigor of the building.

The white facade of the building is inspired by and presents the concept of "tea trees organism". The ground floor expresses the “tree roots” for tea display and tasting areas for visiting guests. The outdoor L-shape fishpond symbolizes the vitality from water. The second floor presents the idea of flourishing “tree branches and leaves”, the space for owner’s rest, self-cultivation, and strategy thinking for business development.

The project, which was completed in 2017 in Taiwan, has been recognized for its unique design and contribution to promoting tea culture. It was awarded the Golden A' Architecture, Building, and Structure Design Award in 2018, a prestigious accolade granted to marvelous, outstanding, and trendsetting creations that reflect the designer's prodigy and wisdom. They are venerated products and bright ideas that advance art, science, design, and technology, embodying extraordinary excellence and significantly impacting the world with their desirable characteristics.