Vietnamese Modernism Was Ahead of Its Time
Despite official neglect, architects are reviving the buildings and ideas of the post-independence era.
Architecture & Design
The stories below are free to read unless the publisher has a paywall.
Wallpaper*
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15th October 2020
Urban Jungle
A few kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City's heaving centre, a building is being grown.
Interior Design Magazine
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5th May 2021
Creative Voices: Vo Trong Nghia
2020 saw Vo Trong Nghia’s green architecture propagate throughout Vietnam. He boosted his “House for Trees” collection – residential projects that are home to both plants and people – including the award-winning Bat Trang House in Hanoi. He embarked on Dong Na Villas, a residential masterplan replete with roads and restaurants outside of Hoi An. But perhaps most arresting are Vo’s three ambitious new bamboo structures: The Huong An Vien Visiting Center in Hue, the Vedana Restaurant in Ninh Binh and an events hall in Phu Quoc.
Architecture Hunter
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6th April 2026
A Design Guide to Hồ Chí Minh City
Hồ Chí Minh City is a metamodern swirl where contrasts collide in unexpectedly beautiful ways. What makes exploring it so compelling is the layering of old and new — a place where tradition, design, and rapid urban change coexist.
FRAME
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18th March 2021
Are Mashrabiya Facades Making a Comeback in Hanoi?
In a bid to design more energy-efficient buildings and craft a native urban aesthetic, architects in Hanoi are reviving a method popular half a century ago.
ICON
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3rd June 2021
Verdant Vietnam
Across the world, biophilic architecture is in full bloom as firms theatrically intertwine buildings with nature. But in Vietnam, architects are harnessing biophilia more quietly.
Interior Design Magazine
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11th March 2022
Bridge to Tomorrow
At Sala Bang Pa-In - a river-island resort near Ayutthaya, Thailand, by Department of Architecture - traditional Thai style connects with a modern-design future.
Architecture Hunter
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7th August 2026
A Design Enthusiast's Guide to Hanoi
For decades, Hanoi has evolved at a gentler pace than other large Southeast Asian capitals, revealing itself through layers of history rather than relentless reinvention. Medieval temples, colonial follies, modernist austerity, postmodern banality, architectural parasitism, and contemporary experiments coexist with labyrinthine alleyway networks, café-fringed lakes, and tree-lined boulevards.
Wired UK
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22nd March 2021
Bamboo Buildings Are the Future
Flexible, quick to grow, and cheap, the charismatic plant has sprouted a whole new style.
Going Places (Malaysia Airlines)
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2nd August 2023
Old Flames Die Hard
In a village outside of Hanoi, a new pottery museum offers a contemporary reimagining of Vietnam’s artisanal heritage.
Hidden Compass
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12th January 2022
A House of Many Hues
An epic saga of one family's division, displacement, and unwavering dedication to their home in Huế — to the backdrop of postcolonial Vietnam.
Fodors Travel Guide
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4th October 2021
Is This Hotel Misleading Guests About Its Colonial Heritage?
In Vietnam, an abandoned university-turned-beachfront hotel seems to be a shining example of the country’s colonial past - except that its history is entirely made up.
Wallpaper*
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15th July 2021
Green List
On a sizzling April afternoon, a rainstorm pummels Ho Chi Minh City. Despite the deafening downpour, temperatures stay miserably high in the megacity’s concrete and glass-laden central districts. Urbanites remain sheltered in offices and cafés, which are sealed and air-conditioned. After the outburst, which lasts for an hour or so, the clouds crack and the sun resumes its offensive, turning the city’s soggy centre into a steam bath.
Chao Hanoi
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18th September 2020
Heritage Repurposed
A blast of thunder detonates over the Hanoi Old Quarter, declaring the imminent arrival of an autumn shower. Specks of water fall like pin pricks as I squeeze through Trung Yen Alley, a narrow ribbon of road linking Hang Be Market with Dinh Liet Street.
The Independent
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21st May 2021
How Architects Are Greening Vietnam’s Hotel Scene
On a diamond-shaped island in southern Vietnam sits a collection of small lagoons enveloped by leafy vines. Adding to the hanging greenery are flourishing frangipani trees blooming with butter yellow champa flowers and bunches of bamboo stalks supporting a lime green canopy. Verdant though it is, this forest isn’t wild. And despite the botanic setting, the lagoons are actually secluded swimming pools.
The Red Bulletin (Red Bull)
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10th November 2020
Bloom Town
As Vietnam’s booming commercial hub, Ho Chi Minh City is a whirlwind of chaos. But in the eye of the storm sits a cluster of houses where humans, trees and birds coexist peacefully. People occupy the lower levels, but the roofs are giant plant pots, each with a tree sprouting from a thick layer of soil. Chirping birds nest in their branches, quelling the noisy invasion of traffic and construction.
Vietcetera
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29th December 2021
These Architects Are Designing Homes for Vietnam’s Tradition of Multigenerational Living
It was a brutally hot and breezeless summer season in Hue, one of Vietnam's stickiest cities. Lien, who teaches Japanese, had just finished a class and was seeing off her students at the front door. There wasn’t a single drop of rain for over a week that time, so she lingered in the front garden to water her parched hedges and trees. After quenching their thirst, she slipped inside her naturally cool house, flipped on the rice cooker and heated up yesterday’s caramelized pork. She then headed up
Wallpaper*
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7th April 2020
Vietnam’s New Biophilic Architecture Is Going Wild
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 th
Vietnam Tourism Board
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3rd February 2019
Unearthing Hanoi's Architecture through Cafes
Hanoi’s architecture mirrors the city’s – and the country’s – checkered history. Chinese influence, French inspiration, subsidy phase austerity and modern practicalities have resulted in a compelling jumble of mismatched dwellings. One compelling way to absorb the capital’s architecture is through its lovingly converted cafes. Here are five you simply can’t miss.
BBC News
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3rd February 2019
Hanoi's Art Space Cafes (Vietnamese)
Ở trung tâm thủ đô, cả về địa lý và tâm hồn là hồ Hoàn Kiếm, chia trái tim thành phố thành những làn đường và ngõ ngách lộn xộn dẫn tới khu phố cổ ở phía Bắc, và những con phố lớn xanh cây nối tới khu phố Pháp ở phía Nam.
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