An adrenaline kick along with your cup of tea? In that case Takasugi-an is the right place to be… or it would be if it was a commercial tea house. The somewhat scary and unstable looking Takasugi-an is an architectural project by Terunobu Fujimori – a tea house built atop two chestnut trees in Chino, Japan. Mr. Fujimori decided to build Takasugi-an for himself on a patch of land owned by his family in order to challenge the traditional idea of a tea house. In reality it resembles a tree house, which is supported by two trees that have been cut and transported from a site nearby and the only way to access it is to climb freestanding ladders. Like in any traditional Japanese household you have to remove your shoes on a midway platform. This is a very innovative and interesting project from an architectural view, despite it’s simple and minimalistic nature, however it’s not very safe considering that the trees have to roots and the whole structure seems rather unstable. Perhaps it’s worthwhile regardless, since the house overlooks Fujimori’s home city. The name – Takasugi-an simply means “the tea house that was built too high”.
Photos taken by Edward Sumner
