Abstract
- Le Picabier is an out of doors micro tea room situated within the mountains north of Kyoto
- Designed by 2m26 and Onomiau, the construction contains a chimney-shaped type and is clad in charred cedar
- A miniature hearth pit will be discovered inside
Nestled within the mountains north of Kyoto, Yachō (“夜鳥” which means night time hen) is a micro tea room designed by Kyoto-based studio 2m26. Developed throughout a residency at Villa Kujoyama, the undertaking was dropped at life in collaboration with Paris-based apply Onomiau. The construction is a one-person tea pavilion, mixing conventional Japanese craftsmanship with modern architectural influences. Its chimney-shaped type, clad in charred cedar shingles, pays homage to Japanese hearth tradition, embodying a way of rationality, poetry and strangeness.
The footprint of Le Picabier is predicated on the standard dimensions of a tatami mat, diminished to a compact 95.5cm x 64cm house and barely elevated on a picket base. Inside this intimate house, a miniature hearth pit offers the mandatory warmth for boiling water, whereas an ingeniously angled opening and chimney effectively disperse smoke.
The development makes use of regionally sourced wooden, with cypress forming the bottom and core construction, contrasting superbly with the charred cedar shingles on the outside, which create a hanging visible towards the encompassing forest. Internally, these shingles are coated with kakishibu, a pure dye derived from fermented persimmon fruit, historically valued for its potential to guard wooden from bugs and water harm.
Atop the chimney-like construction, a lantern impressed by conventional Japanese shrines serves as a ceremonial marker, the place a single candle is lit to suggest the start of the tea ritual. The flame’s gradual fading marks the top of the ceremony, reinforcing the pavilion’s exploration of impermanence and sensory expertise. Le Picabier stands as a meditative retreat, embodying the stability of simplicity, materiality and spatial consciousness, whereas providing a contemporary reinterpretation of Japan’s wealthy tea tradition.
