in china?s yunnan province, trace architecture office (TAO) has transformed an existing assortment of brick buildings into a multifunctional complex dedicated to coffee. located in baoshan, a region recognized for its production of arabica coffee, the site sits on a plateau in the middle of bawan village at the foot of gaoligong mountain, overlooking the landscape of lujiangba and the nuijiang valley to the north.

image by chen hao (also main image)
 
 
as well as areas for the storage, processing, tasting, and sale of coffee, the xinzhai coffee manor includes a hotel in addition to a museum and auditorium. the destination seeks to provide visitors with a premium holiday experience with the region?s scenic landscape as the backdrop. TAO chose to reference the site?s context, and existing materiality, using brick throughout the overhaul of the site.
image by chen hao
 
 
the architects constructed a new building, which is connected to the site?s existing cinema with a set of corridors. in turn, this forms three different courtyards: the central courtyard, the tree courtyard, and the sunken courtyard. the configuration resembles the layout of a monastery with the former cinema, the site?s largest building, transformed into a museum and auditorium that serves as the site?s spiritual center.

image by chen hao
 
 
the main building, positioned at a perpendicular angle to the former cinema, stores coffee within its lower level. here, a vaulted brick ceiling creates a ce...