This Terra Cotta Studio in Vietnam Is a Startling Architectural Wonder
We’re going to break a rule or two here, my dear intrepid reader. This column, if you weren’t aware, is called “Home of the Week.” Thing is, we won’t be writing about a home today. No siree, Bob. Not when there’s an artist’s studio like this one, in Điện Phương, Vietnam, to blow your damn mind with.
Designed and built by Ho Chi Minh City-based architecture firm Tropical Space for renowned sculptor Le Duc Ha, the studio is a perfect 7m x 7m x 7m cube. The exterior was crafted from solid clay bricks — a nod to traditional Vietnamese furnaces — set in a distinct interwoven pattern to provide natural light and wind ventilation, while also allowing the relaxing sounds of the nearby river to seep in.
At the centre of the ground floor is a turning table where, bathed in sunlight, the artist can create his terra cotta masterpieces.
Directly above his work station, two stories of bamboo framing serve as a drying platform for just-finished sculptures, and support two hallways from which visitors can admire both the artwork and surrounding vistas.
It’s a deceptively simple and functional structure that uses the most basic of building materials to create a space that’s ethereal, captivating and unforgettable.
Photography: Hiroyuki Oki / v2com
