Picture architecture in Vietnam and you might imagine ancient temples buried down countryside lanes or faded colonial buildings lining the city streets. But spurred by unprecedented economic growth, this Southeast Asian country of almost 100 million is revamping its traditional image – and architecture is part of the overhaul. After decades spent trying to keep Vietnam’s unrelenting jungles out of the cities, visionary architects now harness the wilderness to enhance their urban creations. And the countryside is no longer designated for relics of the past – but also innovations for the future. From contemporary art hubs hiding in the hills to city tower blocks blooming with foliage, here is the architecture that is making its mark on Vietnam.

Lebadang Memory Space, by Architect Ho Viet Vinh

Nestled in the countryside together with Hue’s centuries-old royal tombs, Lebadang Memory Space is a lively architectural update to the city’s monarchical heritage. This contemporary art museum is dedicated to late local artist Le Ba Dang, who sketched the drawing that the blueprints are based on. Local architect Ho Viet Vinh designed the structure, completed in April 2019, with a central skylight that allows beams of light to track through the exhibition hall throughout the day.

Sky House by MIA Design Studio

Vegetation bulges from the balconies and rooftops of Sky House, a home in Ho Chi Minh City completed in December 2019. The plot was spacious enough to accommodate a large townhouse, but instead of creating unrequired rooms, MIA Design Studio designated half the house to light, wind, water and trees. The result is a generous sky well that feeds light to the habitable rooms and chambers with no practical purpose but to house plants, trees, and indoor ponds.

Chicland, by Vo Trong Nghia

Award-winning architect Vo Trong Nghia is celebrated for his use of natural materials and foliage, such as bamboo and tropical plants. The 21-floor Chicland Hotel, completed in June 2019 in the modern seaside city of Danang, features both. The on-site café has earthy bamboo interiors while the balconies overflow with greenery. Similarly biophilic, Vo Trong Nghia’s Silver Cloud, slated for completion later this year, is a leafy long-stay hotel that blends with the lakes and mountains of Cuc Phuong National Park, 100km south of Hanoi.

Brick Cave, by Doan Thanh Ha

In Vietnam, bricks have been used for at least a millennium. Doan Thanh Ha, who recently won the Turgut Cansever International Award, constructed the Brick Cave in the suburbs of Hanoi with an additional exterior wall to form a narrow atrium around the house. This perforated exterior casing with large windows invites natural light into the family home while keeping it cool during Hanoi’s scorching summers. The rooftop features a vegetable garden.

Central Park, by LAVA and ASPECT Studio

LAVA and ASPECT Studio won the commission to revamp Ho Chi Minh City’s September 23 Park, one of the city centre’s largest green spaces. As well as outdoor art galleries, performance pavilions and sport zones, LAVA and ASPECT Studio are deploying smart city artificial trees. Water purification trees collect and recycle rainwater, ventilation trees provide fresh air and solar trees generate power. Construction is scheduled to begin later in 2020.

VAC Library, by Farming Architects

While large-scale ventures are making a bold impact, smaller innovations are surfacing more quietly. In Hanoi, VAC Library by Farming Architects (Pictured above) is both climbing frame and reading room set within a three-dimensional grid fashioned from wooden beams. Other small projects of great promise include the Chieng Yen Community House in Son La Province by 1+1>2 Architects, which has a semi-cylindrical thatch roof supported by a bamboo frame. In Danang, architecture studio Tropical Space used brick to construct Cuckoo House, a family home perched above a café.

Empire City, by Ole Scheeren

As Vietnam’s commercial capital, Ho Chi Minh City is entertaining many of the country’s most ambitious projects. With Empire City, Ole Scheeren explores how ‘nature can become an iconic element of architecture’ with a complex of three towers overlooking the Saigon River. At the building’s base, layered platforms evoke the swirling rice terraces of northern Vietnam. Over halfway up Empire Tower 88, the tallest of the three skyscrapers at 333 metres, sits the Sky Forest with verdant water gardens that echo the country’s jungles. Construction is expected to start in early 2021.

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A symphony of earth and water that whispers of hidden desires. This enchanting scene blurs the line between reality and illusion, inviting the viewer into a realm of sublime beauty. The interplay of light and shadow evokes a sense of eternal mystery, reflecting the poet’s fascination with the ephemeral and the divine. It is a mesmerizing vision of a garden stripped bare, revealing the seductive essence of nature’s true form.

Điều này có nghĩa rằng nếu bạn chưa đủ thời gian để nghĩ suy thật sâu, thật tường tận vấn đề thì lời nói sẽ hời hợt, nông cạn và thiếu sức thuyết phục. Trong ngạn ngữ Việt cũng có câu: “uốn lưỡi bảy lần trước khi nói” là vậy! Cuộc sống gấp gáp, nhịp đập cuồng quay tác động làm cho ta cũng đảo điên theo sự trôi lăn.
Vậy im lặng là ngồi im mặc cho cuộc đời kéo trôi hay sao?
Không hề!
Diễn dịch theo ngôn ngữ đạo là “im lặng hùng tráng”, tịnh khẩu để thân tâm tập trung khai mở năng lượng tuệ, chiếu kiến để thấu đạt vấn đề. Sau khi quán được bản chất sự vật, hiện tượng ta sẽ dễ dàng hiểu và minh giải được căn nguyên của nó. Từ đó ngôn từ của ta sẽ chuyên chở được đầy đủ thể, tướng và dụng để lời nói trở nên có phẩm chất. Ông bà ta thường chê những lời nói “sáo rỗng” nghĩa là không có phẩm chất, chỉ là đùa vui vậy thôi.
Để im lặng đạt đến sự hùng tráng mà không phải câm lặng là cả một quá trình tu thân và hiểu đạo. Người tu thân phải buông bỏ được tà kiến để thấy được tánh không của vạn pháp mà ngay cả thân và tâm ta cũng do duyên hợp nên bản tánh là không, giả danh và hư dối.
Thấy được như vậy thì ta sẽ hoà làm một với vấn đề mà ta muốn biết nên ta sẽ hiểu nó như nó đã là. Khi đó ta sẽ thông đạt thực tướng để nói những điều nên nói và những điều nên im lặng.

Hồ Viết Vinh.15012026

Mine Art Gallery
Cam Pha coal mine was established by the French in 1886 under the name Société Française des Charbonnages du Tonkin during the reign of King Tu Duc. The mine’s stratigraphic structure descends into deep underground terraces, with coal seams gradually revealed in the light that pierces through the valley.
The jet-black hue of coal, intermingled with the reddish-brown of the earth and the arid dust suspended in the air, creates an abstract palette imbued with depth and intensity.
The project draws inspiration from the overlapping layers of coal seams, reimagined in reverse to symbolize the void left behind. Construction materials, sourced from coal itself, form layered bricks that replicate the natural striations of the seams. Space, materiality, and landscape converge to evoke the emotional and physical experiences of the miners.

Type
Gallery
Year
2016
Location
Cam Pha city
Team
Ho Viet Vinh
Mai Que Vu

The concept of the project is a hybrid space without fixed determinations or boundaries. We envision a space that seamlessly integrates botany, meditation, and art—a sanctuary where individuals can care for themselves slowly and mindfully, embracing relaxation.

Drawing inspiration from nostalgia and natural materials, the space is crafted by artisans and adorned with artworks that celebrate beauty in imperfection, echoing real environments. The façade is constructed from breezeway blocks, allowing sunlight and natural ventilation to flow through, eliminating the need for artificial air conditioning systems.

A spiral staircase wraps around the courtyard, featuring a rendered banister and concrete treads, leading to an open art workshop and meditation space designed to inspire tranquility and creativity.

The overarching goal is to foster a minimalist lifestyle that honors the slow passage of time. Lava stones, with their textured surfaces, reflect dynamic shades as sunlight moves throughout the day, creating an ever-changing interplay of forms and light.

Type
Residential
Year
2020
Location
Ho Tram, Ba Ria Vung Tau
Team
Ho Viet Vinh, Tran Thanh Hai, Le Van Thoi, Ngo Dang Linh
Contractor
Cuong Quang Construction
Interior Designer
Ho Viet Vinh
Structural Engineer
Nam Vie
Photo
Ho Viet Vinh

Triumph

The interplay of deep reds and blues evokes a cosmic dance, where the intangible whispers its presence across the surface of being. This visual symphony captures the essence of triumph, a celebration of the invisible forces shaping reality. The textures and hues blend seamlessly, creating a sense of depth that invites contemplation. It is a portrayal of the silent dialogue between the visible and the invisible, a testament to the power of abstract art to reveal the profound mysteries of the universe.

“If you don’t know how to relax in the pure land,
A life will pass without ever touching happiness.”

Thay Thich Nhat Hanh

The Zen garden embodies the breath of nature, nestled in a coniferous forest that greets the morning sun and immerses itself in the cool embrace of the beach. Here, people move freely in an open space, unbound by positions or frames of reference.
Movement transcends traditional notions of inside and outside, high and low, creating a seamless unity between heaven and earth, plants, flowers, and people. Each step taken resonates with the essence of the pure land, harmonizing all into a single breath of serenity.

Type
Architecture design, Interior design
Year
2019
Location
Ho Tram, Vietnam
Team
Ho Viet Vinh, Tran Thanh Hai, Tran Thi Thu Ha
Collaborator
Quang Nhat Furniture, RitaVo Company, KOHLER