At its inception, the School of Future Design (formerly known as the Future Design Center, FDC) at Beijing Normal University signed a design cooperation agreement for a major national project with the Chinese Tea Culture (Tea Industry) Special Committee of the Chinese Culture Palace Expo Dubai 2020. The project, titled "Future Living Space at the Chinese Culture Palace," was realized through the joint efforts of faculty and students. The tea space design project, "A Leaf Through the Millennium," was successfully implemented at the Chinese Culture Palace of Expo Dubai 2020 and won the "Treasure Boat Award" for Special Project at the first International Tea Culture Festival of the Chinese Culture Palace. This project, further optimized by the faculty and students, will also be exhibited to the public at the school’s art museum later this year.

The project won the "Treasure Boat Award" for Special Project at the first International Tea Culture Festival of the Chinese Culture Palace Expo Dubai 2020

Chinese Culture Palace Expo Dubai 2020

SFD’s tea space design project, "A Leaf Through the Millennium," uses a small tea leaf to showcase the Eastern worldview of "One Flower, One World; One Leaf, One Bodhi" to the world. It employs contemporary design techniques to present a Chinese tea room full of artistic ambiance. The main structure of the tea room is located on an outdoor open platform, echoing the sky corridor and creating the natural atmosphere of an aerial garden tea room.

The design of the cylindrical LED screen surrounding the tea space was inspired by the Chinese lantern, symbolizing grand celebrations, which aligns with the global festive atmosphere of Expo 2020 Dubai. The new media images displayed on the LED screen are based on elements from the painting "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains." These elements—water, wind, and mountains—are transformed into an abstract and complex structure through programmed distortions and disturbances, turning the majestic Chinese landscape painting into a dynamic digital particle structure, allowing viewers to appreciate the charm of Chinese culture through the architecture's exterior. Inside the tea space, a 3D holographic LED display shaped like a full moon creates the illusion of tasting tea under a bright moon.

Night view of the tea space exterior

Daytime view of the tea space exterior

The tea table is equipped with an embedded digital projection system, displaying a complete digital scroll on its surface. The new media images projected on the table align with the tea ceremony process, featuring seven different fluid forms corresponding to the seven steps of the tea-making ritual, following the color sequence of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The final image, showcasing blooming flowers, complements the tea offering and tasting process, providing a sense of fluidity and relaxation, fully embodying the charm of Chinese tea culture.

To ensure the smooth presentation of the multimedia tea table at Expo Dubai 2020, the project team conducted on-site testing at a factory in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. After successful adjustments, the multimedia tea table was delivered to Expo 2020 Dubai.

The tea space is equipped with a tea master demonstrating Chinese tea culture to guests.

The main creative team behind the Dubai tea space design project includes three members: Chief Designer Gao Peng, Space Designer Ye Cheng, and Multimedia Designer Tian Xiaolei. Gao Peng, Dean of the SFD, represented the project’s main creative team to introduce the design concept and significance of the project.

Project Background

At a press conference held by the Future Design Center (FDC, the predecessor of SFD), Dean Gao Peng and Xu Hao, Secretary-General of the Chinese Tea Culture (Tea Industry) Special Committee of the Chinese Culture Palace Expo Dubai 2020, signed a design cooperation agreement for the major national project, "Future Living Space at the Chinese Culture Palace Dubai Expo." SFD was tasked with the design of the future living space at the Chinese Culture Palace Expo Dubai 2020 .

During the global promotion launch ceremony of the Chinese Tea Culture (Tea Industry) Special Committee and its first council meeting, the Future Design Center (now SFD) was appointed as the executive unit of the Chinese Tea Culture (Tea Industry) Special Committee of the Chinese Culture Palace Expo Dubai 2020. Gao Peng, Dean of SFD, was appointed as Vice Chairman of the Special Committee.

As an innovative extension of the "Future Living Space at the Chinese Culture Palace" project, the "A Leaf Through the Millennium" Song Dynasty Tea Aesthetics Exhibition Design Project was showcased in the first half of 2024 at the 6th International Exhibition of Art and Science and the "Innovative Horizons: A Showcase of Design Excellence" international design exhibition held at the Singapore Cultural Centre, receiving widespread acclaim.