The Unexpected Tranquillity of "To Tsai" Tea Room in Athens / Georges Batzios Architects

Mlesna Hellas request for a unique tea house, a tea island in the middle of the hardcore center of Athens, so George Batzios decided to guide us to an auto-referent introverted space with minimalistic architectural details based on the characteristics of the traditional Japanese architecture such as wood light and shadows. 

 

An, ornament free, wooden framework occupies the newly constructed interior skin of the tea house. A skin that shapes the ensemble of the functionalities of the tea house while forming its visual perception. Form texture and function are melted under the same distinctive element. 400 panels of glued laminated timber cover the entire interior space in all dimensions in a regular repetitive rhythm that brakes up its regularity periodically while keeping the same rhythm in order to organize the functional areas of the tea house.

 

Facts & Credits:

Architect: Georges Batzios Architects

Location: Al. Soutsou 19 Str & Lykavitou, Kolonaki, Athens

Client: Mlesna Hellas

Surface: 120 M2
Status: Completed 10/2015

Production Manager: Kostas Papatheodorou

Construction Manager: Georges Batzios Architects

Wood Construction: Mixalis Petridis

Electrical Works: Giorgos Mastorakis

Steel Works: Giorgos Friganiotis

Lighting Consultants: L4a
Photography: Konstantinos Kontos