General Information:

Project Name: Flower Appearance Tearoom Renovation Design on Pingjiang Road Suzhou
Architecture Firm: cocoonstudio
Contact e-mail: cocoonstudio@126.com
Firm Location: Suzhou China
Completion Year: 2022.2
Gross Built Area:200m²
Project location: No.255 Pingjiang Road, Gusu District, Suzhou, China
Lead Architects: Wang Weishi
Lead Architects e-mail: 3508436327@qq.com

Photo credits: Xue Liang
Photographer’s website: https://www.xueliangfoto.com
Photographer’s e-mail: xueliangzhenman@163.com

Design Team:
Wang Weishi; Li Guanjia; Wang Cheng; Zhou Wei
Design Cooperation: Shen Wen
Clients: Flower Appearance Institute

Renovation of an ancient courtyard on PingJiang Road Suzhou——
Flower Appearance Tearoom Renovation Design

Near the entrance of Pingjiang Road stands an ancient courtyard built in Qing dynasty. This 200m² courtyard is composed of two main houses and two side corridors which form a square courtyard space. The traditional layout and architecture elements are well-preserved; Some modern additional elements can also be seen: a steel structure glass roof cover the courtyard turning it to a rain free space; The narrow back yard is transformed to a glass room which is an additional private space to this building.

The design objective is to renovate this space to a tea room with the function of exhibition and experience of flower tea. The name of the space is “Flower Appearance”, it’s also a figurative image the client hopes the space can express. How to response to the design requirements, adopt the right strategy to reinterpret the traditional architecture space with contemporary angle of view, is the core concern of this renovation design.

Based on identifiability and reversibility principle, the renovation is more like the process of doing “Plus”: Preserve existing traditional architecture and add new independent flexible space elements to the space, creating a mutual presenting relationship which make an intact new atmosphere and experience.
We adopt stainless steel as main material, using its abstract quality and diffuse reflection effect to form the sense of lightness which oppose to the heaviness traditional wood structure and dark roof space form. This sense of lightness is an agile force shuttle through the existing space and reform the atmosphere.
In the main courtyard space, we add 3 elements as space installation: the long desk, the flower curtain, and tea pavilion.

The long desk is based on the demand of more seats. We have to set more seats and at the same time keep the space quality, so the desk must be a specially designed artifact. The curve shaped desk outline and redefine the square space, creating a super flat surface floating in the center of this ancient courtyard. The stainless steel panel is only 8mm thick. We use an alternative arrangement of thin suspender and column to support the dest, forming an unconventional sense of span. The diffuse reflection of the surface strengthens the sense of lightness by creating a water like reflection of existing traditional architecture.

The flower curtain is a visual optimize installation hanging below the existing glass roof structure. It’s also a sunlight filter and an expression of the figurative image of flower. The steel meshes are installed on two kind of curve tracks. By composing these tracks at different height and angles, we get a cloud like transparent entity floating in the courtyard. This flower shaped cloud outline the cornice of the traditional architecture, and also reform the space scale below.
The tea pavilion is an extension of the existing corridor on one side. It’s an intentional asymmetrical design to break the traditional symmetrical space arrangement. This element of asymmetry exists before the renovation. One side of the corridor is a high stage and the other is flat floor. We keep this high stage and connect it to the courtyard with different level of platforms, the high stage is used as tatami seats and the middle part of the connecting platform is extended to a square pavilion place where people can sit surround. The roof also extended to cover the place and we adopt a special tectonic. We replace the concave tile with U-steel beam, leaving the cover tile buckle on them. This unexpected material compose forms a super thin traditional roof from outside view and a contemporary material collage from inside view, give the traditional heavy material a light presentation.

The use of stainless steel material continues in interior renovation. In the main room, we use stainless steel to make the bar counter and seat booth, creating a contrast with the traditional space. Stripes of stainless steel creates abstract vision voids breaks the ordinary relationship of objects and then giving new perceptions to these traditional elements. In backyard, the original glass house is wrapped up into a white cube from inside, leaving openings near ground. The image of mottled old wall come inside as an abstract picture, forming the special texture and atmosphere of this special space hiding in the corner of old city Suzhou.