nana’s green tea AEON MALL ITAMI
Hyogo, Japan / 2018

“Furnace and Wind Furnace”
Nanaha Co., Ltd. is a company that sends the “new form of Japan” to the world through “mattcha”. They provide high quality mattcha in menus that are arranged modernly, such as mattacha latte. The space inside the shop is desired to be a “modern tearoom”, not a “Japanese style tea room”. According to the owner, it is a way of expressing their feeling to make a shop that allows the customers to enjoy the traditional Japanese culture with a modern interpretation.

The tea culture is separated into the world of “Furnace” and “Wind Furnace” by the boundary of November. From the beginning of November to the beginning of May, the “Furnace” at the tea ceremony to boil hot water is placed into the hearth, which is a cube with the side length of around 42cm. It is also used to warm up the room for the people.

On the other hand, “Wind Furnace” is used from May to November for boiling water, with charcoal and hooked pot. It is made using earth, Tang iron, and copper, and as it boils using enclosed fire, the high burning efficiency makes it hard to heat up the surroundings even in summer. The change and use of different furnaces in the tea rooms hope to cool the space down in summer and warm it up in winter.

Therefore, as a “Contemporary Tea Room”, Nana’s Green Tea AEON MALL ITAMI has a big furnace surrounding the existing pillar. With the lighting imitating the actual fire, which changes according to the seasons, it expresses the form of the “Furnace” and “Wind Furnace”.

(From the beginning of November to the beginning of May – “Furnace” – With the sound of fire burning.)
(From the beginning of May to the beginning of November – “Wind Furnace” – With the sound of water boiling.)

Designed by Masahiro Yoshida and Yoshie Ishii
Photos by Keisuke Miyamoto