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When extraterrestrial visitors finally announce themselves and want to try drinking tea, you won't want to take them to a boring rickety old traditional teahouse. Luckily, Japanese artist Kengo Kuma has created this glowing, alien-ship-like teahouse for a museum in Frankfurt.
This teahouse is basically a fancified version of a jumpy float. LEDs light up the structure at night, and the textured membrane surfaces help heat the interior. And contrary to the way the outside looks, the inside is still traditionally Japanese — there are nine tatami mats, a stove to heat the water kettle, a tokonoma, and a room to prepare the tea in. [Kengo Kuma main page via Treehugger]
