{"id":587,"date":"2025-06-13T10:10:54","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T10:10:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.drlelandwhitson.com\/?p=587"},"modified":"2025-06-13T10:12:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T10:12:22","slug":"tea-pavilion-by-kong-xiangwei-studio-floats-like-a-silver-feather-in-chinese-rainforest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.drlelandwhitson.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/13\/tea-pavilion-by-kong-xiangwei-studio-floats-like-a-silver-feather-in-chinese-rainforest\/","title":{"rendered":"tea pavilion by kong xiangwei studio floats like a silver feather in chinese rainforest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kong Xiangwei Studio reclaims forest ruin in china<\/h2>\n

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Tucked within the ancient mist-cloaked ridges of Yunnan\u2019s Wuliang Mountains in China<\/strong><\/a>, the Phoenix Feather Tea Pavilion by Kong Xiangwei Studio emerges like a silver plume resting gently in the trees. Located on Phoenix Mountain at an elevation of 2,380 meters, the structure perches within a 1,300-acre tea-tourism sanctuary in Bixi Township, Dali Prefecture, a region famed not only for its tea<\/strong><\/a> but also as one of China\u2019s vital migratory bird corridors. Every autumn, tens of thousands of birds descend along this ancient route, echoing the mythical image of ‘a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix.’<\/p>\n

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With a design language they describe as a ‘light touch on the earth,’<\/em> Kong Xiangwei Studio translates the delicate form of the feather into a forest pavilion<\/strong><\/a> for birdwatching and reflection. Using slender 14-millimeter galvanized steel<\/strong><\/a> rods, the architects trace linear paths through the landscape, their placement mimicking the silver pheasant\u2019s legs as they rise into a sweeping hyperbolic arc, mirroring the gentle curve of a feather midair.<\/p>\n

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all images by Archi-translator Photography, Kong Xiangwei Studio<\/p>\n

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a feather touching the earth<\/h2>\n

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It was in a forgotten valley west of a tea homestay – where remnants of earthen dwellings quietly erode into the forest – that inspiration struck the team of Kong Xiangwei Studio. A white silver pheasant\u2019s feather, delicately patterned and edged in silver, landed on the mossy ground like a natural design sketch. This moment sparked the concept of a structure that could echo the lightness, grace, and poetic presence of the bird itself.<\/p>\n

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The southern end of the pavilion grounds itself with a tea bar and platform, while the eastern tip is supported by only a handful of rods. This subtle shift in structural density creates a sense of suspension, as though the entire frame is caught hovering between sky and forest floor. Clad in silver metallic paint, the steel rods become reactive surfaces for the constantly changing Yunnan sky. Mist tints them in soft blues, sunsets wash them in pinks and purples, and nighttime warmth floods the frame with golden tones, resulting in a feather that never quite looks the same.<\/p>\n

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the Phoenix Feather Tea Pavilion emerges like a silver plume resting gently in the trees<\/p>\n

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Phoenix Feather Tea Pavilion mirrors mist and light<\/h2>\n

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Carefully positioned among ancient trees, Kong Xiangwei Studio’s Phoenix Feather Tea Pavilion avoids disturbing its surroundings. The presence of the structure is restrained, composed of a curved steel canopy that slices the sky into a grid of linear apertures, intensifying the experience of looking up, while an end table on the west opens toward dense rainforest, framing the wilderness.<\/p>\n

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Inside the open-air structure, birdwatchers sit in contemplative silence, gazing outward while also becoming part of the forest\u2019s ongoing rhythms. The architecture itself becomes both frame and participant – intertwined with mist, birdsong, dappled light, and rustling branches. In this shared act of seeing, boundaries dissolve between observer and observed.<\/p>\n

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More than a scenic rest stop, the Phoenix Feather Tea Pavilion becomes a spiritual threshold, one that honors a millennia-old bird sanctuary. Hovering like a feather caught mid-fall, it invites quiet communion with nature through lightness.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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the structure perches within a 1,300-acre tea-tourism sanctuary in Bixi Township<\/p>\n

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echoing the lightness, grace, and poetic presence<\/p>\n

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Kong Xiangwei Studio translates the delicate form of the feather into a forest pavilion for birdwatching and reflection<\/p>\n

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the southern end of the pavilion grounds itself with a tea bar and platform<\/p>\n

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the eastern tip is supported by only a handful of rods<\/p>\n

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the shift in structural density creates a sense of suspension<\/p>\n

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the entire frame is caught hovering between sky and forest floor\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\t\t\"tea-pavilion-kong-xiangwei-studio-floats-feather-chinese-rainforest-designboom-large03\"<\/p>\n

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the steel rods become reactive surfaces for the constantly changing Yunnan sky<\/p>\n

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\t\t<\/p>\n

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nighttime warmth floods the frame with golden tones<\/p>\n

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the project avoids disturbing its surroundings<\/p>\n

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\t\t\"tea-pavilion-kong-xiangwei-studio-floats-feather-chinese-rainforest-designboom-large01\"<\/p>\n

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Phoenix Feather Tea Pavilion’s structure is restrained<\/p>\n

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project info:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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name:<\/b> Phoenix Feather Tea Pavilion\u00a0<\/p>\n

architect:<\/b>\u00a0Kong Xiangwei Studio
\nlocation:<\/b> Fenghuang Mountain Tea Estate, Bixi Township, Nanjian County, Dali Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China<\/p>\n

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design team:<\/b> Kong Xiangwei, Cui Jun, Gao Zhuojian
\nphotographers:<\/b>\u00a0Archi-translator Photography, Kong Xiangwei Studio<\/p>\n

The post tea pavilion by kong xiangwei studio floats like a silver feather in chinese rainforest<\/a> appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kong Xiangwei Studio reclaims forest ruin in china   Tucked within the ancient mist-cloaked ridges of Yunnan\u2019s Wuliang Mountains in China, the Phoenix Feather Tea Pavilion by Kong Xiangwei Studio emerges like a silver plume resting gently in the trees. Located on Phoenix Mountain at an elevation of 2,380 meters, the structure perches within a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.drlelandwhitson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.drlelandwhitson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.drlelandwhitson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.drlelandwhitson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.drlelandwhitson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=587"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.drlelandwhitson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":600,"href":"http:\/\/www.drlelandwhitson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587\/revisions\/600"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.drlelandwhitson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.drlelandwhitson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.drlelandwhitson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.drlelandwhitson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}