Antidote to Burnout

Café Society in Vietnam -- Large Coffeehouses

I know I am enamored with the design of the large coffeehouses in HCMC, and I love the cà phê. But I am especially interested in the social usage of the large coffeehouses by Vietnamese. Any morning or evening will... Read more →

HCMC House 12

Back to a series focusing on individual modernist houses in Ho Chi Minh City. This house is an interesting experiment in warping the usual rectilinear frame of Vietnamese modernist houses. Vietnamese architects spend time reviewing site lines to make sure... Read more →

An anthropomorphic modernist house in Vietnam

I am not sure the designer intended to form an anthropomorphic image in the design of the house below. But it certainly comes off that way, especially when driving by and not necessarily looking at the architecture. The ground floor... Read more →

Building Construction Week 4

Although the photo below doesn't look like it (end of the week), there was a lot of work on the site in back of my house every evening this week as the foundation contractor drilled and poured concrete for two... Read more →

Used car from California in Vietnam?

Walking by a car dealer on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street the other day, I was struck by a California license plate on one of the cars. I know they sell imported used cars in Vietnam, but such a new... Read more →

Building Construction Week 3

I skipped the second week of construction behind my house because nothing progressed except for delivery of materials. In this third week, ironworkers formed rebar cages to be dropped into a bore hole to reinforce foundation piers. This weekend they... Read more →

New modernist houses in San Francisco

I have said before that Vietnamese architects are far ahead of architects in the remainder of the world in evolving modern architecture for houses. They have been at it for decades. While there are thousands of excellent modernist houses in... Read more →