Watermoon Tea House

The client’s main request was to have a tea pavilion located on the Watermoon Mountain that does not require artificial air conditioning systems to achieve thermal comfort in the space. But due to its location on top of this hill, the building is completely exposed to the sun from the south and the strong winds coming from the northeast. The design uses two staggered, south-facing curved concrete plates that help to control the airflow and introduce a pleasant southern wind into the space. The vertical dislocation between the two curved plates and the horizontal concrete plate that canopies the front platform allows the sun radiation into the space washing over the tea table’s surface during the colder season. The triangular-shaped Burmese Teak wood lattice located on the north facade blocks the strong unpleasant winds coming from the north east. The pivoting doors also made of Burmese Teak wood that are located on the perimeter of the plan allow for a better control of the light and direct airflow into the main lounge space. The pavilion stands as an island in the middle of an oval-shape water pond elevated 60cm over the water level on the east side and 30 cm on the west side. The level changes on the pond allow for a natural water flow and help improve the space comfort, increasing the relative humidity in the air that flows into the space during the hot season. Project name: Watermoon Tea House Location: (address) No. 1, Shuiyuetai Rd., Changhua City Design period: 2015 – 2017 Construction period: 2016 – 2017 Office Name: Behet Bondzio Lin Architekten Project team: Behet Bondzio Lin Architekten Lead Architect: Yu‐Han Michael Lin Building system: RC construction Technical data: Plot Area: 3017 m² Footprint: 113. 9 m² Gross Built Area: 94. 65 m² Total Building Height: 5. 7m above the water level Program / Use / Building Function: Tea pavilion + restroom and pantry Office Website: Social Media Accounts (Instagram): behetbondziolinarchitekten Photographs: ©YuChen Chao Photography zaoyarch@gmail. com