Design Build Teahouse

Fall 2023 - David Matthews

Collaborated with a team to design and construct a contemporary portable teahouse for the Knoxville Asia Festival, promoting Japanese cultural traditions. Drawing on the Japanese principles of restraint, natural materials, and intimate spatial proportions, we created a structure sized for three tatami mats to embody harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility. The project emphasized craftsmanship, construction, and model making, using only wood, steel, reused materials, and resources native to East Tennessee. Guided by members of the East Tennessee Japanese community, including Kumi Alderman and tea instructor Atsumi Matsuda, we approached the work as a

cross-cultural exchange. My leadership role focused on designing the audience seating, which strengthened my skills in wood shop techniques, collaboration, and team coordination. friends and partners from the East Tennessee Japanese community, including Kumi Alderman, founder of the Asian Cultural Center of Tennessee, and Astumi Matsuda, an accomplished tea instructor. We had several roles to complete the teahouse and one of my leadership roles involved designing the audience seating. Designing the seating allowed me to gain knowledge on how the wood shop works and how to work great in a team.