Excerpt: Bonte café, designed by Yen Architecture, desires to bring nature into the project where people can touch with the light and wild nature. The buildings are covered by tall trees and low trees and have flowers, shrubs, and some types of vines. The team kept the color of concrete, timber, steel, and grindstone. They highly appreciate the local craftsmen who, although they don’t have modern machines, have great minds and hands, making the material’s surface emotional and attractive.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] Vietnam is a developing country, urbanization is happening rapidly and it is driving people away from nature. The buildings around us are gradually concreting and leaving bad effects on our own living environment. Yen Architecture hopes that through this project, people will reconnect to nature.
2 km northwest of the centre of Hoi An ancient town. Bonte Cafe is located on the outskirts of the city, the area adjacent to the old town and the new residential area. With the desire to bring nature into the project, people can touch the leaves, flowers with the light and wild nature. The buildings are covered by tall trees and low trees and have flowers, shrubs, and some types of vines. With layers of vegetation, the problem of heat here is very well solved. The trees covered sunshine and both provide moisture and oxygen in the air that makes the environment cooler and cleaner. During the rainy season, the amount of rainwater is returned to the soil through this garden, ensuring the cycle of water and carbon in nature.
The door system with the folding option can be maximized to form the roof and at the same time blur the boundary between the inside and the outside, the air is circulated well, the space becomes larger. In the midst of this open space, a cup of coffee acts as a catalyst to help people become closer to each other. Bonte Cafe has 3 stories, with a void to connect the ground floor to level 1 – making the interaction between floors easier, customers can easily choose a good place to sit and enjoy their drinks. Level 3 is quieter and more secluded to work and study. We’ve arranged a number of tables for group seating, and a few English learning groups have recently chosen this space as a study place.
Not many materials were used in this building but they are used to their true nature. We keep the colour of concrete, timber, steel and grindstone. We highly appreciate the local craftsmen who, although they don’t have modern machines, have great minds and hands, making the surface of the material emotional and attractive.