Tea Houses

The Californian based studio Swatt Miers Architects have designed the tea house project. These three tea houses are located in Silicon Valley, California, USA and was completed in 2009.

The idea for these tea houses originated years ago, when the owner and his younger daughter explored the remote hills surrounding their Silicon Valley home. Here they discovered an “idyllic setting below a ridge, under a grove of large California Oak trees. At first, the family thought the setting would be perfect for a tree house, Years later, after the 6000 square foot main house was extensively remodeled, the vision was realized as three individual tea houses, places where one could simply retreat into nature”.

“Each tea house is designed as a transparent steel and glass pavilion, hovering like a lantern over the natural landscape. Cast-in-place concrete core elements anchor the pavilions, supporting steel channel rim joists, which cantilever beyond the cores to support the floor and roof planes. With its minimal footprint, the design treads lightly on the land, minimizing grading and preserving the delicate root systems of the native oaks”.

Each of the three tea houses vary in size, each with its own unique purpose. The ‘mediation’ tea house is 270 square foot and is nestled under the canopy of the largest oak tree, as a place for individual contemplation. The slightly larger ‘sleeping’ tea house is a place designed for overnight stays and is approximately 372 square feet. “This structure is joined by a ski-lit bathroom core, which bridges to the largest tea house. At 492 square feet, the ‘visioning’ tea house is for intimate gatherings and creative thinking. The notion of ‘quiet simplicity’ is a consistent theme throughout - there are no phones, televisions or audio systems within these structures”.

Special thanks to HomeDSGN for the above images.