Offcuts Teahouse
A commission by DesignSingapore & The National Arts Council for Arts In Your Neighbourhood 2019
Offcuts Teahouse is a place of meeting and contemplation in cosmopolitan Singapore, in this teahouse made entirely out of recycled and repurposed plastic, steel and wood off-cuts. The teahouse is made in the same size of a HDB Bomb Shelter – a consistent unit across the island. 
Drawing inspiration from the traditional East Asian teahouse, Offcuts Teahouse explores ways of re-imagining a place of meeting and contemplation within a cosmopolitan city like Singapore.
A reflection of the multiple brewing of tea, the teahouse is created from repurposed offcuts: second life materials collected from the region of Tampines, contributions from its residents and materials reappropriated from the artist's studio. This repurposing of materials allows them to take on different characters and properties with each use and presentation.

As we re-brew the offcuts materials, we give them a new lease of life.

The measurements of the teahouse emulates a standard unit of measurement that unifies and relates to Singaporeans -- the standard dimensions of a HDB bomb shelter, a 1.2m x 1.2m square space. 

Situated amidst greenery in the neighbourhood, one is invited to enter the space, brew a cup of tea and contemplate nature through a single window and the urban city through the other.
Client: National Arts Council, Singapore Design Week
Design: Clara Yee, Cy Kim, Gerald Leow, Miki Charwin, Patrick Khoo
Tea Sommelier: Kenny Leong
Video & Editing: Jai Rafferty
Photography: Miki Charwin
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