This family-run tea house is located at the heart of downtown Portland’s New China/Japantown district. The owners’ Chinese heritage and extensive knowledge of Chinese teas led to the naming of the business after Da Hong Pao, or Big Red Robe tea, after one of the premier teas grown in the Wuyi Mountains region of southeastern China. 

Red Robe is primarily operated as a tea house and coffee shop but the open floor plan has been structured for flexibility to also serve as a micro-curio shop and mini-community space. The design aesthetic springs from this concept of a neighborhood watering hole, containing a modern and simple space, imbued with traditional materials and motifs. The interior design embodies an east meets west aesthetic, blending the old with the new, honoring the district’s culture and history but cognizant of its evolving diversity and demographics.

The compact, 1000 square-foot layout is maximized and enhanced by an exposed structure, where spatial definition is provided by a simple grid of wood beams and columns. Artwork, carved wood grills, and display shelving provide architectural accents to further highlight the theme of tea. The space is equipped with A/V capability, along with a projection screen, concealed behind retractable sliding calligraphic art panels. Perimeter cleat hangers underneath the wood beams allow for artwork and cultural exhibits.

The exterior signage was conceived as continuing the essence of the interior and are intended to be art pieces, utilizing signage for identity/advertisement as well as ornamentation. The Chinese and English text are integrated within the illuminated blade signage, along with a laser-cut steel overlay of the Chinese ‘cha’ character for the word tea.