Antidote to Burnout

Design Touches 3 -- More Gates

Remember from our Design Touches 2 posting that large gates are the primary "face" to the street for the typical Vietnamese house with narrow lots in the cities. The gates provide pedestrian and motorbike access, as well as ventilation when... Read more →

OSHA? What's that?

In the good ole' USA, construction people are very aware of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Admiinistration (OSHA), and the various state agencies regulating worker safety. On the whole, these agencies and the construction industry together have positively raised... Read more →

Design Touches 2 -- Gates

This is the second in a series on design touches found around Việt Nam. I like these design touches because they exhibit conscious decision-making. We are so used to standard off-the-shelf solutions in the USA, so it is surprising to... Read more →

The typical water supply for a house in Viet Nam...

A while back, Khanh commented on my posting about our new apartment that we should explain the water system. In that posting, I showed a picture of one of the bathrooms and noted that the bathroom is also the shower... Read more →

Planning Ho Chi Minh City...

The following article from yesterday's Vietnam News confirms population growth figures for Ho Chi Minh City: Planners evaluate overflowing city (20-03-2006) HCM CITY — With HCM City’s population projected to hit 10 million by 2010, local planners are working hard... Read more →

Design Touches 1...

In addition to the series on modernist HCMC Houses, this is the first posting in a series on design touches -- small design items that exhibit the above average design sense of HCMC people. This is a normal small convenience... Read more →

HCMC House 1....

This is the first in a series of postings showing what I feel are the best of houses in Ho Chi Minh City. These are houses that exhibit great design choices with regard to materials, configuration, and decorative elements. My... Read more →

The new de Young Museum in San Francisco

I am trying to take advantage of my time in San Francisco to catch up on the benefits of the city I ignored for so long while working myself into burnout. The new de Young fine arts museum was recently... Read more →

Good Design in Ho Chi Minh City

Unlike Hà Nội where most new houses have a very historicist decorative design, such as this building, the new houses in Ho Chi Minh City are more modernist if not just utilitarian. And while the houses in Hà Nội are... Read more →

Housing in Ho Chi Minh City

Most of the housing in Ho Chi Minh City, like all of the other cities in Việt Nam, is four or five stories tall. This is true for new middle-class houses even in the smaller villages. I understand there is... Read more →

The Clinton Library in Little Rock, Arkansas

For my architecture friends -- I recently had the opportunity to go to Little Rock, Arkansas to see the William J. Clinton Presidential Center, designed by Polshek Partnership Architects. This building complex and park has been well publicized in both... Read more →

Thorncrown Chapel in Arkansas

Click on any of the photos below to see a larger version. While in Branson, Missouri, last week, I took the opportunity to visit two architectural sites while in the neighborhood -- the new William J. Clinton Library in Little... Read more →

Women Construction Workers in Việt Nam

Virtual Doug is publishing a series of articles on his blog chronicling the construction of a typical Vietnamese house. In his latest article, he noted that most of the construction workers were women. I commented back to Doug that the... Read more →

House in Ho Chi Minh City

Although we are out of Vietnam for a month or so, I still have several topics to cover -- this one is about a typical house in Ho Chi Minh City. We stayed at friends of Hien's during our five... Read more →

For KMD readers -- Update on Duyen:

Good KMD folks will remember fondly Duyen Tran, the Vietnamese intern we enjoyed working with a couple of summers ago. On her return to Hanoi, she moved to Ho Chi Minh City and is doing well. We enjoyed a wonderful... Read more →

Historical Architecture in Hoi An, Vietnam

End of Japanese Bridge Originally uploaded by layered. The Lonely Planet Guide to Vietnam describes Hoi An, a small town south of Danang, as a living museum. Over 800 structures dating from the first half of the 19th century have... Read more →

Richard Meier in China

For my architect friends...... Coming out of the Shenzhen airport a few days ago, I couldn't help but notice a huge (and I mean really huge) billboard featuring architect Richard Meier's portrait and what appeared to be an announcement for... Read more →