Gold Interior Space and Exhibition Design · 2020
The Unity of Zen and Martial Arts Tea Shop
- A' Design Award 2020 Gold Winner in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Awarded April 15, 2020
- CLIENT: Heytea
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 12,148
- Verification code 395489F942 · Verify this award
About The Unity of Zen and Martial Arts Tea Shop
The Unity of Zen and Martial Arts is a tea shop interior in Foshan, China. The design joins local culture with a brand culture based on new tea drinking. Foshan is known as a home of Wing Chun, and the wooden dummy used in Wing Chun inspired the spatial structure. Horizontal and vertical wooden members are joined with traditional mortise and tenon work, dividing the gray slate space into clear layers. Transparent acrylic boxes above the wooden posts hold dancing lion and pot wall symbols of Lingnan culture. A long central tea table recalls tea mountains.
The Unity of Zen and Martial Arts Tea Shop by UND Design Studio emerges from a rich tradition of contemplative spatial design that bridges Eastern philosophical principles with contemporary architectural expression, creating an environment where the ancient ritual of tea consumption finds renewed resonance within modern commercial context. The design demonstrates sophisticated understanding of how material selection and spatial proportion can generate atmospheric conditions conducive to mindful experience, with the central timber column functioning simultaneously as structural element, spatial organizer, and symbolic axis mundi connecting earthly realm to celestial aperture above. Technical accomplishment manifests in the precision of joinery details, the seamless integration of mechanical systems within architectural expression, and the careful calibration of proportional relationships that generate harmony without monotony. The restricted material palette of warm timber against cool neutrals achieves chromatic sophistication through restraint, allowing subtle variations in wood grain, concrete texture, and light quality to provide visual richness within disciplined parameters. Compositional intelligence reveals itself in the asymmetrical placement of the dominant vertical element, which creates dynamic spatial tension while maintaining overall equilibrium through the counterbalancing horizontal extension of service counter and seating zones. The furniture selection, featuring pure geometric forms reduced to essential cubic and conical volumes, suggests dialogue with both traditional craft objects and modernist design principles, achieving timelessness through archetypal simplicity. Thematic content engages questions of ritual, presence, and the elevation of quotidian activity to contemplative practice, inviting consideration of how spatial design shapes human experience and consciousness. The work participates in ongoing conversations within hospitality design regarding authenticity, material honesty, and the creation of distinctive experiential environments that resist homogenization. Viewers might contemplate how the interplay of vertical aspiration and horizontal grounding mirrors the balance sought in meditative traditions between transcendence and embodied presence within the immediate moment.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The integration of Zen and Martial arts is the concept of this project, and combination of local culture and brand culture is the biggest feature. WhenmentioningFoshan, the famous Wing Chun of Yip Man (Bruce lee's master) will come to mind. The unique cultural geographical characteristics combining with brand cultureadvocatingnew tea-drinking methods has formed the concept of Zen tea and Martial arts. How to express traditional cultural symbols modernlyis also the theme of our exploration.
- Tags
- Local culture, Zen tea, Wing Chun, Mortise Tenon
- Production Technology
- In the design of this case, the inspiration comes from the wooden dummy of Wing Chun. A horizontal and vertical humanoid structure combines with traditional mortise-tenon skills, creating a "coordinate" of the space, cutting the original large area of slate gray basement in proportion to deconstruct a rich sense of hierarchy within the space. Lingnan culture and Zen tea are interwoven, and the result of their mutual harmony in the same time and space is expressed by the transparent acrylic display boxes above the wooden stakes. The dancing lions and pot walls placed on them are the native symbols of Lingnan culture. The design expresses artistically through the origin of tea - Tea Mountain. The undulating Tea Mountain as layers of clouds, is placed in a long tea table in the center of the space. All of these balance the visual proportions while constituting a new birth of local culture and modern trends.
- Design Challenge
- he challenge lies in how to combine geographical characteristics with brand culture, satisfying modern young people to enjoy tea while evoking the perception of traditional culture. Many of China's unique traditional culture are slipping away little by little in the great demolition and construction of "China speed". This culture, which has accompanied for hundreds and thousands of years, is the biggest feature and the most valuable thing in this place. How to meet the needs of modern industry development while respecting and promoting the local culture is the challenge and compliance for design. In addition to the reasonable arrangement to meet the needs of the guests in various status, we also made a bold combination and interpretation of how to apply the local traditional culture in a space.
- Project Duration
- Started on March, 2019;
Finished on July, 2019;
No. 23, Guilan Road, Guicheng Street, Nanhai District, Foshan, China - Inspiration
- The design is located in Foshan, the hometown of martial arts, where was once famous for Wing Chun. UND tries to integrate modern aesthetics with brand culture, combiningthelocal culture of Foshan with Oriental Zen in the same space to interpret the unity of Zen and martial arts. Zen as the main body, martial arts as the form, and tea as the inspiration. The three come together and collide in the same space, arousing a sense of cultural belonging that the locals are proud of.
- Image Credits
- UND Design Studio