Architecture studio Waterfrom Design has completed the Tea Community Centre, a multipurpose building in Xiamen, China, that is partially concealed beneath the surface of a pool of water.
Above ground, the tea house takes the form of a simple pavilion for preparing and serving tea. But a staircase leads down into a much larger basement, which can be used for a variety of different activities.
A shallow pool of water covers the roof of this space but it's possible to see down into it, as it's punctured by a large circular courtyard.

Waterfrom Design designed the Tea Community Centre to reference The Peach Blossom Spring, a Chinese story in which a fisherman discovers a utopia where humans live in complete peace with nature.
"In the Peach Garden, people are simple and honest, and live a harmonious atmosphere," said the firm, which has offices in Shanghai and Taipei.
"We hope this scene will reappear here, which will become a precious life connotation in the community," it continued.
"No matter how bustling the outside world is and how the city is changed, find the entrance to Arcadia and dive to the bottom of the lake, and you will always find tranquility from an unusual perspective."

The building was commissioned by real-estate developer Zhong Nan Group, to serve as a sales office for a new residential development. But in the long term, it will serve purely as a community centre for the neighbourhood.
The tea pavilion provides the entrance spa...