My design of the Van Abbe Teahouse Pavilion focuses on tailoring unique experiences for its users by crafting unconventional spaces. Four robust rammed earth walls run parallel to each other creating three linear volumes. The walls in combination with cut-outs, floor-to-ceiling windows, and timber steps, benches, and elements; which are placed perpendicularly, spanning the wall-to-wall distance; dictate the circulation of the space, forcing the user to move between the three volumes. While these interruptions in the linear volumes physically separate the space, they have a certain level of transparency to them. This creates an experience where the user can see spaces, which they cannot directly enter, forcing them to maneuver through the building to reach the desired semi-secluded spaces. The teahouse has no space for tables or chairs, with the timber elements acting both as circulation and seating instead. The design encourages the users to interpret how these timber elements and spaces should be used themselves.

Student: Jakub Janas
Tutors: Mark Hemel, Jan Schevers