Foamcore Galore

 If there is one thing I hate about working with foamcore, its how messy it gets - bits and pieces flying everywhere. While using the previous foundation images as reference, here I have begun to create the base of the teahouse using long foamcore pieces (doubled up, using glue to make it sturdier). The difficulty in this part was making sure the measurements remained changed for the perfect square in the centre. It is important to keep with the right angles, otherwise is would prove to be difficult in the end when tatami mats are inserted.

Near complete base, the extension at the top will
form the Tokonoma

Under the square here, is the early planning for
the mizuya

Teahouse Foundation Planning

Starting off with the layout, I had intended my teahouse model to be small, thus I chose a 4.5 tatami mat layout. After alot of reasearch, I found a building plan to work off of from one of the books I had borrowed from the East Asian Studies library. The layout I chose is quite simple, with a tokonoma and a mizuya.

This is an image of the teahouse apart of a
 larger complex.

Images of the walls of the teahouse, including
measurements. 

Some foundation images I had found online, there were not a lot of foundation details in the books, mostly about layouts. This was my starting point to the construction, the structure of the model is important in determining how sturdy the teahouse will be afterwards.

The attaching of the beams is very detailed, but I'm
likely to employ easier methods with foamcore.

Process of Planning

To start on this project, I first headed to the East Asian studies library and picked up a few books on traditional teahouses. The difficulty of this task was trying to find the specific books I needed on construction and not tourist attractions or of historical significance. Most of these books were written in Japanese, thus it took a bit of effort to interpret the construction images and their captions. 

Very useful books on elements of construction
I was lucky to find.

If I had more time, I would have attempted
to put my teahouse on a lake?

Next thing to do is to gather the necessary materials and tools: foamcore, coloured paper, tracing paper, plastic sheeting, rulers, X-acto knife, tape, white museum board. 

Introduction: Creative Project

Hello to those of you who may have come across this blog :) This blog is devoted to the creation of a Japanese Chashitsu (Teahouse) model (in a scale of 1:50) out of primarily foamcore for the Creative Project Assignment for EAS378: Edo,Osaka & Kyoto.   

Japanese Chashitsu played a predominant role in the Tokugawa era for not only being a place for entertainment and conversation, but also representative of what changes in time has brought about changing in the meaning of space the traditional Japanese Teahouse serves. Before the flourishing of businesses in the Genroku period, teahouses served as spaces of meditation and concentration, primarily isolated in an area surrounded by elements of nature. The expansion of entertainment districts the use of spaces for entertainment purposes had brought the traditional teahouse into the city and had given it a whole different meaning 

For this project, the teahouse I will be building is a kumo style, where the main layout is constructed of fewer than 4.5 tatami mats. This is a model of an early teahouse, and not that of the city; however it shows a general layout of what elements are included in the interior. Teahouses of the city would have several of these  rooms merged together at a larger scale.  

A traditional teahouse set in a background of greenery
(Source: 茶座作法)