Kontum Indochine Cafe by Vo Trong Nghia Architects

Kontum Indochine Café is a part of the hotel complex that lies next to the Dakbla River in Kontum City in Vietnam. The position of the hotel is enough to make it remarkable, since it is right next to the Dakbla Bridge, which is an entrance to the city, giving stunning views of the river and the mountains around it. However, the architects from Vo Trong Nghia Architects designed its café in a way that makes observing these sights from the cafe even more of an experience.

The café is consisted of two parts. The first one is the main sitting area with a horizontal bamboo roof and fifteen inverse bamboo cones that are reminiscent of a Vietnamese fishing basket. The bamboo used for these structures was treated using traditional methods such as smoking out, ratten tying and bamboo nails.

The roof is made of bamboo, thatch and fiber-reinforced plastic panels that are transparent and exposed at some places in order to let the light into the middle part of the café. The second part is the kitchen serving the café that is made of concrete and stones.

The Kontum Indochine Café is surrounded by a shallow artificial lake and open to air from all sides. This kind of setup that introduces the cold air from the water, along with the materials used, eliminates the need for air conditioning even during the hottest days of the year. Due to its openness, the guests can enter the café from three sides via the bridges crossing the water.

The café is planned to be used as a dining and tea area, but also as an open banquet hall.