Text description provided by the architects. TBD is an office for our partner, a general contractor specializing in interior and fit-out. It sits on a rental plot of land whose context strongly influence the building’s construction system and its spatial experience that is set to expire in the near future.
Ho Chi Minh is a migration destination, the most populous, and the fastest growing. Yet the city is set to experience the severe effect of sea level rise as the challenging issue of climate change is becoming more prominent. The building implements practical features that are commonly found in tropical vernacular architecture, especially those around the Mekong Delta region. It sits on stilts to avoid potential flooding, facilitate natural ventilation, allow water to be naturally absorbed deep into the ground, and refill the aquifer underneath. As common as it is in rural areas, this practice is overlooked as the city develops its urban fabric.
As a developer of their own product, the designer addresses the full cycle of the building which offers options to either move, or upcycle parts of the building to new constructions, or dismantle for scraps to recoup part of their initial investment when the lease ends. TBD is as much an architectural challenge for our contractor partner to go beyond their line of work and expand their market, as it is for us to address the fast-changing future of the city.
Foreign as it looks, the building offers a familiar experience. By borrowing the surrounding landscape that is yet to be developed, the building's spatial perception embodied the openness that positions itself in an in-between state, betwixt inside and outside, and embracing the nature of tropical vernacular. This effect is further enhanced by the use of a monochromatic interior that blur the hard building line and its corner.
Through this project, we hope to present an alternative to our industry in responding to the brief and unspoken condition that is affecting the city’s urban fabric. At the same time, offering a feasible shift to employ and modernize our local knowledge, recognizing the intrinsic connection between rural and urban areas as they are developing simultaneously.
