Araksa Tea House

Mae Taeng, Thailand

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Araksa Tea House

Mae Taeng, Thailand

Firm

Simple Architecture

Type

Hospitality + Sport › Restaurant

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2019

SIZE

3000 sqft - 5000 sqft

BUDGET

$100K - 500K

Araksa Tea Garden is situated on the foothills of the rich forest of Mae Tang, Thailand. This boutique tea garden produces high quality organic tea.
The site is one of the oldest tea gardens in Thailand. Undisturbed for over 15 years until its new ownership, the tea plants have not been exposed to chemical pesticides or fertilisers.
The goal was to design a new Tea House using sustainable and locally available material and embed the building into its natural habitat of the Tea Garden. The whole construction process took almost two years and the building was opened in late 2019.

Building Material

Selected by climatic properties, availability, ecological footprint and social factors, adobe bricks and local second hand timber became the two main material sources for the tea house.
Soil originated on site had a sufficient clay content. By mixing it with locally available rice husk we were able to produce eighteen-thousand Adobe bricks. After completing the production process, the bricks had been stored under a purpose build roof for the duration of a rainy season. Tree trunks found on site were used for the main structure of the building. Not a single tree was cut for the construction of this building.
Underneath the roof we constructed 50 cm thick walls to define different zones of use within the building. All walls were made from adobe bricks and plastered with a locally available lime mix.
For the roof we used about hundred-fifty thousand hand-pressed roof tiles, which we were able to purchase at a local tile making factory. Due to the hand-pressing process, the roof tiles are very delicate. As a result we had to avoid that tiles are getting to wet during rainy seasons by following the minimum specifications for the inclination of the roof.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the construction process took almost two years from pouring the first foundation to finishing the lime plastering of the walls.

Social Aspects

Before starting the design process we committed ourselves to make sure the project meets the immediate needs and aligns with the long term sustainability goals of Araksa Tea Garden. We hired workers with different skill sets from the local community and invested into locally available resources. During the construction process we exchanged different building techniques and associated cultural experiences which resulted in a wider skill-set for both parties.

Environment

To reduce CO2 emission, the use of local and natural material, such as adobe bricks and second hand timber, has been our priority. This resulted in minimal use of transportation and a reduction of immediate costs. Only for the foundations we had to use reinforced concrete to provide a strong base for the adobe walls and the timber and steel roof structure.
The Tea House is constructed in a way that, due to the heat absorbing adobe walls and the strategic placement of the building within the tea garden and the resulting natural ventilation, no further means of cooling is needed.
The arrangement and openness of the walls provides sufficient natural lighting to the inside of the building.