Steel And Glass For A Beautiful Tea House in Silicon Valley, California

It all started years ago when the owner and his young daughter discovered the perfect setting for what they thought could be a tree house. Years passed and that vision expanded. Finally, it turned into a much large project involved three tea houses. The project was designed by Swatt Miers Architects. The three tea houses are located in Silicon Valley, California, just below a ridge, under a grove of large California Live Oak trees.

Tea houses swatt miers architects11

The project was completed in 2009. The three little tea houses were envisaged as a beautiful retreat into nature, a place where the owners could go to clear their heads, to relax and to forget about everything for a while. The location is amazing and was actually the trigger that inspired the owner. Each of the three tea houses was designed as a transparent steel and glass pavilion. This way the views can’t hide and the inhabitants can admire them at all time.

Tea houses swatt miers architects11
Tea houses swatt miers architects11
Tea houses swatt miers architects11
Tea houses swatt miers architects11
Tea houses swatt miers architects11
Tea houses swatt miers architects11
Tea houses swatt miers architects11
Tea houses swatt miers architects11
Tea houses swatt miers architects11
Tea houses swatt miers architects11

The base is made of cast-in-place concrete core elements and supporting steel channel rim joists. The oaks have been preserved and now they form beautiful views. Even though the tea houses look similar in terms of design, they vary in size. There’s a 270 square foot “meditation” house under the canopy of the largest oak tree, a slightly larger “sleeping” tea house for overnight stays and 492 square feet “visioning” tea house for intimate gatherings.{found on archdaily and pics by Tim Griffith}