Make It
How can we design spaces that feel special?
Introduction
Can you imagine a place solely dedicated to the drinking of tea? Your local coffee shop or café might be the closest modern equivalent to the teahouse at Mia, a reproduction of a teahouse from Japan in the 1700s. But while Starbucks and its ilk have ample space for many customers—those looking for a drink to go, others who are meeting up with friends, and still others hunkering down to work or study—teahouses like this one were private and noncommercial; they prioritized intimacy over anonymity. A host would invite a few guests and spend as much as several months planning for the special occasion. In addition to the serving and drinking of tea, a traditional Japanese tea ceremony consisted of coming together, admiring the artworks adorning the space, and praising the host’s thoughtfulness in preparing the experience for their guests. The artworks and objects kept within and the utensils used to serve the tea were all selected carefully with the guests and the particular season in mind. Guests would enter through the garden and participate in a ritual tea ceremony prepared by the host, a sensory and aesthetic experience of the art of gathering.
Mia’s teahouse showcases the aesthetic preference for rusticity—a desire to remove oneself from the hubbub of the city. This is evidenced by the use of natural materials in its construction and the imperfect, yet still beautiful, utensils and instruments typically chosen for the ceremony. While Japan’s ruling warrior elite first held lavish tea gatherings in formal audience halls, several influential Japanese tea masters later emphasized a wabi aesthetic that favored simple, humble beauty. The museum’s teahouse is based on the Sa-an, an eighteenth-century teahouse within the Zen monastery of Daitokuji in Kyoto. Through its name, Sa-an, or “Hermitage of the Raincoat,” the owner was trying to convey the idea that this teahouse is like a humble hut that you might happen upon while hiking in a forest on a rainy day.
Every element of a Japanese teahouse is carefully selected and designed to create the ultimate experience for the host and guests. Teahouses like the one at Mia feature shoji (sliding doors made of wooden lattice frames covered with translucent Japanese paper), tatami woven-mat floors, a built-in hearth, a mizuya or “water room” where the host prepares for the ceremony, and a tokonoma (alcove) where the host places art such as hanging scrolls and flower arrangements to be appreciated by guests. Building a teahouse requires a team of skilled craftspeople who have knowledge of traditional Japanese architectural design and artisanship. Teahouses are constructed using mostly organic materials such as different kinds of woods, as well as bamboo and straw. Lighting is also very important to the experience of the tea ceremony. The windows of the teahouse are not meant to provide a view to the outside garden but rather to filter the light that enters the space, mediating light and shadow and enhancing the highly choreographed, multisensory experience of the tea ceremony.
Try It!
Using these guiding questions, learners can work individually or in groups to explore what makes a space special.
- Think of a place that’s special to you. What makes it special (in general, and to you personally)?
- Describe the place using as many adjectives as possible.
- What does it feel like to be there? Which senses does it arouse? What are the smells, sounds, and textures of the place?
- What kinds of materials is this space made of?
- What does it look like? Make a rough drawing or a sketch.
- Where is it located?
- Who usually goes there with you?
- What would the space be used for? What kinds of events or activities might you host there?
- If you were to have a gathering in this space, what food or drink would you serve your guests?
- Choose the season and the time of day for your gathering. Whom would you invite?
- How would you decorate the space in order to complement your guests and their interests?
Sketch a drawing or create a 3D model of your space based on your brainstorming exercise. This activity can be modified and used in the first month of school to support students in co-creating their ideal classroom learning environment!Time: 30 min. or up to 2 class periods
Materials: Drawing and coloring utensils for sketching or modeling, sculpting materials to make 3D models
Guiding Questions:
What makes a space special?What does it feel like to be in a special space?
Do It!
What does the word “ritual” mean to you? For some, it might bring to mind religious traditions and cultural practices. Or for some it might have a more flexible, secular meaning, nearly synonymous with “routine.” Rituals are actions that individuals or groups of people do repeatedly and that follow a structured pattern or script, and in this way carry symbolic meaning. Rituals can be casual and small scale but still carry significance. They can also be grand occasions that happen less frequently, or even once in a lifetime. What different kinds of rituals can you name? What cultural and community rituals you have experienced yourself?
Learners can think about a ritual they’ve performed and make a small-scale model of the space where the ritual took place. Then have everyone share their models and stories about meaningful rituals in their own lives.
Time: 1 to 3 class periods
Materials: Clay, modeling clay, or other sculpting materials
Guiding Questions:
What does the word “ritual” mean to you?What are the different rituals that we experience as part of the many cultures and communities we are part of?
Make It Yours!
Design Challenge
For this design challenge, take on the role of a designer creating a space to the specifications and preferences of a client. Follow the design-thinking process below as outlined in this lesson, “What is the connection between design-thinking and art?”
Time: 3 or more class periods
Design-Thinking Process
- 1
Empathize: Take some time to look closely at all the different components of the teahouse in Mia’s collection. Whether you’re visiting the teahouse at Mia in person or looking at photos online, take in the whole space at once. Next, break it down into its components: structure, materials, shapes, rooms, objects. Then, consider the person that the teahouse was designed and built for. What kind of space were they looking for? What kind of experience did they want for their guests? How might it feel to be inside the teahouse?
Research traditional Japanese teahouses and identify their fundamental design components. Here is a video of a Japanese Tea Ceremony.
- 2
Connect: Split the class into design teams. One person who is not a student, such as a teacher, maker-space facilitator, or guest, will act as the client. The client will come up with an idea for an event or gathering they want to host. Each design team will have an opportunity to interview the client to find out about the event to be held in the space. What kind of space is the client looking for? Who will be using the space?
- 3
Ideate: Using notes from the interview, teams should brainstorm design ideas. What materials will you use to complement your client’s preferences and needs? How are you taking their needs into consideration throughout your design process?
- 4
Prototype: Make a sketch or a large-scale model out of materials of your choice. Be creative with what’s available to you.
- 5
Test: Display the models and have teams present their designs, describing how the structure fulfills the client’s needs. Reflect on the question, “If you were to do this again, what would you do differently, and why?” Solicit constructive feedback from the client and peers; from their perspectives, what worked well, what made this idea compelling, and what could have been improved?