We are in a city — the country’s former capital. Yet nature is everywhere present: mountains on the horizon, wild beaches a few kilometers away. In the Citadel especially, lakes and wide planted avenues abound, and no house may rise higher than “the King’s Gate.” Even agriculture is present within its walls. An answer to our urbanistic dead ends?
Light Dark
The modern is about transparency, glass facades, etc while classical taste contrasts interior & exterior. We cultivate
the local tradition of being never fully inside nor fully outside but always in transition, partly inside and partly outside.
Latices,
screens,
windows with no glasses,
furnished gardens,
balconies with carved railings,
ornate pergolas…
Above, Below Us
If, of the
celestial and terrestrial deities,
we bow only to the former and reject the latter, will our world remain
in balance?
Like the Ancients of both East and West, we do not raise
concrete as a shield
against chthonic powers, but lay handmade bricks directly upon the soil so that this communication may endure:
earth on earth,
upon which the human foot rests.
A human World
If our homes are
“machines to live in”
and all that surrounds us is concept directly informing matter without the mediation of artisans,
are we not
machines ourselves?
Modernism speaks of functionalism; we prefer to feel that the idea, the work of the artisan, and the matter transformed have dialogued and danced together — a ballet that remains present every day before our eyes through
carvings, wooden constructions, handmade ceramics,
and
mosaics.
It is an animated and human presence that
enriches the soul.
all heirs
Our collective heritage is the very fabric of our lives, and the same
benevolent forces
that shaped our forefathers’ lives also shape ours — so long as we
remain open
to their spell.
Huế
Huế — and Vietnam — stands at the confluence of
Europe and
China, while
always remaining itself.
A dynasty that cultivated relations with Europe and established its legitimacy through the emulation of Chinese ritual forms nevertheless remained rooted in the most ancient local traditions.
Though our creations are modern and innovative in style,
the spirit that inspires them rises from the past and
from the soil upon which they stand.