Look around the streets of Taiwan and the popularity of bubble tea manufacturer, 50 Lan, will be obvious. The owner Mr. Ma founded a humble beverage and fruit stall in 1994 and with a growing culture of cold and hand-shaken tea, 50 Lan proved to be a thriving business. Today, the company has moved its headquarters to Tainan into a concrete building designed by renowned architect Mao Shen Chiang. Fittingly, the building houses a traditional tea room, testing rooms and a tea kitchen where employees like to experiment with new tea variants.

Being a faithfull tea lover like mr. Ma, a tea ceremonial room is a prerequisite. The room, kept in earthy hues with wooden sliding doors and leather mats, welcomes guests with Taiwanese calligraphy on the walls. 

Wood vs concrete – In this modern lab, a simple earthy-colour scheme results from a material mix of concrete and wood serving as a pure and perfect frame for building a modern brand.

Spiral up – A four-floor structure topped with a rooftop terrace overlooking the city is now the creative base for Mr. Ma and his fourteen colleagues. Floors are connected through a spiral staircase made in the architect's signature material - exposed concrete.