Concept - final version

Starting points

This concept is probably my fourth or fifth iteration - I started with the idea of traces and depth using materials (brick set within resin or ice) but these did not convey the idea expressively enough.

Theatre is associated with ritual and so my concept started when I was thinking of other everyday rituals and objects which contain obvious traces of past use.

I drink a lot of tea. Making a pot of tea is a small everyday ritual, taking time out to appreciate the rhythm and sequence of steps to make the cup of tea. It is more than just drinking tea.

As well as being associated with Japanese culture, tea is also deeply ingrained in English culture. Having a cup of tea is a very English thing to do when someone is upset; a good cup of tea can fix many things.

Christchurch has a very English heritage. There were probably many cups of tea made and offered after the earthquake and all the after shocks.

Traces & Tea

An old tea cup, like an old building, will contain traces of past use - the chips and cracks, but also finger prints, lipstick prints and tea stains. The tea leaves left behind may also reveal your past and future...

These traces tell a story; the cracks or chips stimulate your memory and imagination, unconsciously or consciously, as you try and recall or imagine how they happened. The traces of tea left in the cup may trigger a memory of when you last used the cup.

Human Scale & Senses

Lifting the cup encases your face in steam carrying the fragrance of tea which reveals its recipe but also the temperature, the touch of the cup on your lips distinguishes the quality of the cup, then finally you taste it.

The tea cup is a associated with a more genteel tradition of tea drinking. Using a tea cup like this is incomparable to drinking out of a thick, super sized mug - those are for lazy greedy people. A tea cup implies restraint and patience, and more subtle pleasures. The tea cup is designed for the curves of your mouth whereas a mug is just a straight sided geometric void.

Maintaining a human scale and a strong relationship to the human body itself (rather than some abstract shape or design) is desirable to fully engage with users of the space, and to enable experiences involving more than just the sense of vision.

...Further Development

The tea cup plus saucer, when viewed in plan, is suggestive of an open auditorium contained within layers of walls, like a secret garden in inner sanctuary. As our site is now in the 'green zone', I'm thinking of exploring how nature will take over these remains and traces of a past theatre by only reusing portions of the remaining walls and facades.

The design will, of course, retain the main concept of traces left behind, past use and reuse, and human scale.