THIÊN Y – HUẾ CITADEL

City... Country

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.