This 80-Seat Teahouse Wows in Hong Kong

2023 Best of Year Winner for Small Casual Dining

Zia, an 80-seat teahouse, reflects its location in the Hong Kong Palace Museum, which exhibits artifacts from Beijing’s Forbidden City. CL3 Architects Limited’s thoughtful and contemporary concept takes inspiration from the 18th-century emperor Qianlong’s tours to southern China, imagining a village where the entourage might have stopped overnight. Traditional wooden roof structures, a blue-painted ceiling, and a suspended circle evoke a moonlit landscape for the nearly 2,000-square-foot space. On the walls hang reproductions of a Qing Dynasty scroll and green ceramic tiles UV-printed with text describing the emperor’s journey. The subtle palette is based on mineral colors used in Chinese ink paintings.

See Interior Design’s Best of Year Winners and Honorees

Explore must-see projects and innovative products that took home high honors.

2025 WINNERS

a seating area with a ceiling installation

a triangular ceiling installation in the teahouse

PROJECT TEAM

william lim; jeffrey chen; nirut benjabanpot.

Projects
How a Campus Bike Shop Doubles as a Work of Art
John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects creates a sculptural bike shop for the University of California, Santa Barbara with space for repair stations and socializing.
Projects
Bible Verses Inform The Design Of Thailand’s Church Of Joy
Department of Architecture Co.’s spiritual design for the Church of Joy in Bangkok, Thailand, blends the interplay of light and geometry with divine faith.
Projects
Peek Inside the Revamped IBM Manhattan HQ Fostering Innovation
Gensler transformed the IBM Flagship at One Madison Avenue with a myriad of cobalt touches, ambient lighting, and flexible, efficient workspaces.