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Architects: Adrei Studio
- Year: 2020
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Photographs:Trieu Chien
Text description provided by the architects. In Japan, the tea room - Chashitsu - is a modest space for gathering where people converse and practice the cherished tea ceremony. The charm of the tea room resides both in its sophisticated architectural details of the structure and the ambiance of the place as people join in together around the small fire, preparing for the tea. The fire plays an equally important role as that of the tea itself or the tea-making routine. The fire is the essential ingredient to initiate the ceremony. It is the first step to the bridge that links the bustling everyday life to the tranquil space of the tea room, the same bridge connects people as they savor the warmth of the tea, together. Sitting by the fire, holding the tea bowl inside the palm, one can see life in its all sincerity and modesty.
While the fire is still burning, the tea house is a quiet servant for the people. When the fire is out and all the equipment stowed away, the tea house becomes home for the spiritual beings and little creatures. The reality and the void are bounded together inside the compact space of the tea house, where the ceremony is maintained as a humble tribute to life.
The design of the restaurant draws inspiration from the Japanese tea room and the spirit of the tea ceremony. Dining spaces are enclosed and divided into small rooms, each is carefully designed in reference to the modesty of the tea room to highlight the spirit of hospitality. At Wabi, hiding in every corner is a carefully placed detail waiting to be found by one’s wandering eye, whether it be a piece of finely hand-chiseled timber or a rugged rock sculpture. Each find is a peculiar experience that becomes an intimate memory.
Learning from the Japanese wood-working techniques, the surface of the table, the door frame, and the wooden floor inside the restaurant take their shape through the hands of Vietnamese carpenters, charmingly connecting the two cultures. The foreign becomes familiar. The bizarre carving on the wood becomes native to one’s touch. The palms speak to the mind what the eyes can’t see at first glance.
Within the restaurant, throughout every space, there is a symbolic fire burning persistently. It burns within the heart of the kitchen, inside the heart of every staff. It is the same fire that gets lighted up inside the tea room, the fire that connects. That fire can be passed on, from the staff to the diner, from one person to another, through the act of kindness.
