Michael Lin's Tea House (2025) is a soft monument that understands architecture as a site of "hospitality" and "gathering," accompanying the perpetual negotiation of memory, place, and identity. This tea house resembles a temporary pavilion akin to the modern festival curtains used for outdoor performances and theatrical events. Composed of four curtain-like walls with no roof, it blends into its surroundings, embracing the shifting light and shadows cast by the sun’s movement.
Its name is derived from a small tea house that once stood on this site. For a long time, that tea house served as a beloved resting spot for visitors to Mount Rokko, though it had fallen into disuse and was recently demolished. Tea House revives this role by tracing almost the exact footprint of the former structure, once again becoming a place for people visiting Mount Rokko to gather and rest.
The walls are adorned with patterns inspired by traditional Taiwanese textile designs. These patterns carry a history influenced by Japanese, Chinese, and Western European elements, combining floral and geometric motifs. In particular, the integration of cherry blossoms with tartan check creates a space where opposites converge—inside and outside, tradition and modernity, public and intimate—quietly reflecting the history of Kobe, a port city where diverse cultures have always intersected.
