A historical Georgian ruin transformed into a Japanese Teahouse while respecting the building's own unique charm. The challenge was introducing a Japanese cultural icon into the heart of old Tbilisi with a nod to Georgian cultures. 

With that concept in mind, we held a design workshop to brainstorm ideas with local Georgian architecture students and young architects. We spent 2 weeks together to discuss what we should do to protect the traditional Georgian environment, and how we could adopt Japanese culture into the historical location. It was a great experience for me as a Japanese designer, and this collaboration contributed a lot to the final design.

Out of respect for the architecture, we kept as much of the existing exterior as possible, including the building's lateral tilt of 5.8 degrees - from which the Teahouse gets its name. We then inserted a horizontal level which we layered with cement by local workers to complement the traditional Georgian vibe, as well as Japanese minimalism. 

Cement is not that traditional material in Japanese history, but Georgian people have been using cement for thousands of years like a Japanese tea culture, therefore we thought it is meaningful to have the cement finish for a whole interior. 

Most of the sub-floor, sub-wall, and sub-ceiling were made by recycled materials from our demolition work. Also, we decided to show off the existing old brick wall with LED strip lights to emphasize the history of the architecture. 

In addition, Tatami floor mats ( Japanese traditional floor mats ) were imported all the way from Japan to complete the space. As a result of the transformation, the old empty ruin has turned into a cultural exchange space between Japanese and Georgian people. 

The whole process of the renovation was a cultural exchange activity too, and now it is functioning as a community hub among neighbors through a Japanese tea ceremony. In the end, this place became not just a tea place but a cultural bridge across Eurasia.