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Fu-An, an evanescent tea pavilion by Kengo Kuma

For its five years in the Cité des arts of Besançon, the Fond régional d’art contemporain (FRAC) Franche-Comté presents the Fu-An’s installation designed by the japan architect Kengo Kuma. The art work, a tea room with a lightning and floating structure, will be visible from June 10th to September 30th, 2018.

Sketch of Fu-An's installation © Kengo Kuma & Associates courtesy Galerie Philippe Gravier
Sketch of Fu-An’s installation © Kengo Kuma & Associates courtesy Galerie Philippe Gravier

Fu-An is an ephemeral pavilion made by the Japanese office Kengo Kuma for the World O-CHA (Tea) Festival in 2007. This floating tea room is composed of a helium-filled plastic bubble suspended at 3,70 m above a little space paved of tatami mats.

Fu-an, evanescent tea pavilion © Kengo Kuma & Associates courtesy Galerie Philippe Gravier
Fu-an, evanescent tea pavilion © Kengo Kuma & Associates courtesy Galerie Philippe Gravier

A veil of organza, a noble and translucent fabric, is lashed to the ground by pebbles to partition the space of the room. The Fu-An artwork proposes to recreate an atmosphere and an experience inspired by the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. The visitor is invited to enter into the installation and can sit down to contemplate the material, the light and the stage of the passing time.

Fu-An materializes some of the main principles of Japanese architecture, such as the relationship between interior space and outdoor space or the relations between light and time.

Fu-an is made of a plastic transparent bubble, an organza veil and some Japanese traditional tatamis © Kengo Kuma & Associates courtesy Galerie Philippe Gravier
Fu-an is made of a plastic transparent bubble, an organza veil and some Japanese traditional tatamis © Kengo Kuma & Associates courtesy Galerie Philippe Gravier

Kengo Kuma, Fu-An
FRAC Franche-Comté temporary exhibition
From June 10th to September 30th, 2018

Find the latest AA Projects, “Kengo Kuma, Le Caractère des Lieux”, dedicated to the Japanese architect projects and his singular vision of architecture, to order here.