In my second year in the school of Architecture I studied the traditional architecture of Japanese tea houses with Jack Smith, FAIA. This studio was an exploration into traditional Japanese wood construction methods with an emphasis on model building.

I began my projects by studying wood joinery and the tatami mat module in addition to the rich history of the tea ceremony itself. My final project (see below) was a modern rendition of the traditional methods we had spent the first half of the semester researching. This tea house is located on a sloped glade in Hyalite Canyon, Montana. It gestures with planes in space out over the slope of the hill and down into its foundation near the edge of the forest. Every dimension, ratio, and gridline was derived from an examination of the Golden Ratio as it expands from the origin measurement at the ceiling height of eight feet. It is an exploration into modern architecture as it relates to the typology of tea house design.

My traditional exploration is a small, three-mat floor plan surrounding a hearth at the center of the plan. The crawl door brings the visitor past a raw, unrendered column which presents the connection of the experience to its surrounding environment. It is intimate, with space only for three mats and a hearth. Researching and designing this tea house was a very impactful experience as I learned about the history of spiritual design and Architecture. Moreover, I discovered the value of construction method and its intersection with experiential design. These lessons stuck with me as I continued to refine my design style throughout my educational career.