My friend, fellow wood butcher and syrah quaffer, David Williams, has single-handedly created a wonderful space in Kansas City. The city has a sister arrangement in Japan and decided to build an authentic Japanese tea house on local park property. Kansas City has a long history of appreciation with the renown Nelson Atkins Museum which houses one of the premier Asian art collections in America as well as the recently acquired Hallmark photographic collection.
Plans were sent, hands were email-shaken and everyone looked around for someone to take the bait. David, in a moment of artistic weakness, said yes to the bureaucratic tsunami and embarked on a yearlong path to give form to formlessness. As any woodworker can attest, its hard enough to be in one's shop and try to bring a project to fruition, let alone attempt this with numerous city officials wielding the sword of budgetary restraint lurking over your shoulder.
To his credit and perserverance, he surfaced on the other side with humour intact and all ten fingers to have created an elegant form that holds the spirit of Japanese building tradition: parsimony and elegance. Click on the picture above for a slideshow tour.
Let us know if you need to reach David for your projects. For more views of the Japanese building tradition, check out the below listed books.
RP
