Sprawling across the rocky Seogwang Dawon tea plantation of Jeju Island, South Korea, the O'Sulloc Tea Museum now offers visitors a chance to watch and participate in tea ceremonies, thanks to a series of stunning glass pavilions added by South Korean studio Mass Studies. The first of the new structures (↑)—which contrast with the museum's original, rounded main building—is called Tea Stone, and is made up of a two-story concrete building used for classes and exhibitions. According to the architects responsible, the dark, polished exterior is meant to reflect the surrounding forest and sky. Floor-to-ceiling walls of glass capping either end of the structure—both of which overlook twin pools of water—were also added in the noble name of "heightening an aura of tranquil stillness."
Another similarly boxy pavilion (↓)—called Innisfree—houses a cafe and an extensive tea shop. Here, all four walls of the building are made of glass, contrasting with the wooden ceiling rafters on the interior and the raw timber roof outside. My Modern Met has more photos of the zenned-out architecture, right this way.
· Glass Pavilions Celebrate Korea's Traditional Tea Culture [My Modern Met]
· Mass Studies adds three pavilions to Korean tea museum [Dezeen]
· All Museums posts [Curbed National]