009 – DEOCON

The Đèo Cón Rest Stop – A Gentle Beginning in the Mountains of Phú ThọLocated along National Highway 32, the key route between Hà Nội and Sơn La, the Đèo Cón Rest Stop is conceived as the first step toward an eco-tourism node and a small homestay-bungalow retreat in the green midlands of northern Vietnam.Set within steep terrain and untouched forest, the design does not impose but gently aligns with the landscape. A light two-storey steel structure forms the backbone, combined with simple materials and refined detailing. Sloped roofs and earthy tones allow the building to dissolve quietly into its natural context.The program is organized to serve both travelers and local visitors: compact bungalows for overnight stays, viewing platforms opening toward the hills, dining areas, and small craft shops that highlight local culture. Each function is arranged to encourage rest, encounter, and a direct dialogue with the landscape.Beyond its physical form, the project reflects a broader intention—activating the latent potential of Phú Thọ’s hills through a model of sustainable, community-oriented development. It supports local livelihoods while preserving the quiet identity of the land it inhabits.

008 – VIET.DINH

Viet Dinh at Expo 2025 – A Manifesto of Harmony Between Humans and NatureExpo 2025 in Osaka marks a post-pandemic moment of reconnection—where humanity gathers again after years of separation, loss, and distance. It becomes a quiet symbol of resilience and shared presence beyond borders and cultures.In this context, Vietnam presents “Viet Dinh” – a contemporary pavilion rooted in tradition and identity, contributing to the global dialogue on the human–nature relationship.Inspired by the Vietnamese communal house (Đình) and the philosophy of “Heaven – Earth – Human” (Thiên – Địa – Nhân), the design is organized around a central core space for gathering and ritual. Here, architecture acts not as separation, but as alignment with nature and community.The curved roof becomes a symbolic gesture of shelter and connection, while the open courtyard forms a shared void of memory, encounter, and continuity.Within 300 m² and a height under 6.5 meters, constructed in lightweight steel, limitation is turned into clarity. What remains is essence—a quiet, refined expression of Vietnamese culture on the global stage.

007 – DIE SICHTBARE KULTUR

Idealizing the UnrealIn Berlin-Lichtenberg, the Dong Xuan Center has evolved since 2005 into a vibrant Vietnamese enclave—part market, part living space. Hidden within the urban fabric, it now attracts weekend visitors seeking cultural intensity. Yet across its about 200-hectare site, fragmented retail structures create spatial confusion and conflict with official urban planning.This pilot project proposes not demolition, but reorganization. Clear circulation systems and introduced green zones improve orientation and usability while preserving the site’s raw industrial character.Two massive concrete towers—former industrial remnants—become the project’s core. Instead of removal, they are reactivated as a multidisciplinary hub for art production, research, exhibitions, and cultural archives, carefully balancing expansion with preservation of their heavy industrial identity.The transformation inevitably affects local livelihoods, but also strengthens cultural and economic exchange between Germany and Vietnam, building on over 45 years of relations. The project positions itself between preservation and renewal—turning an industrial fragment into a future-oriented cultural ecosystem shaped by sustainability, regulation, and continuity.

006 – TREFF.PUNKT

The Town with Its Narrow StreetsBorghorst, a small town in Germany’s Steinfurt district, struggles with underused parking areas, fragmented cycling routes, and neglected, dimly lit spaces. Yet its edge near the Bagno Nature Park offers strong potential for hiking, cycling, cultural events, and concerts across Burgsteinfurt, Bagno, and Borghorst.The project works with “urban emptiness” as a design strategy, reactivating overlooked spaces into social nodes that reconnect the town and its community. The entrance is reshaped into a pedestrian-friendly gateway with improved tourism infrastructure.A former parking lot becomes a mixed-use structure: a senior residence with three levels, rooftop space, and underground parking, combined with shared uses like a restaurant and guest rooms. A nearby tourist information center supports arrival and orientation.At the core lies the “Red Square,” a calm public space for gathering and dialogue, defined by seating, a west-facing wall, and integrated bookshelves.The project turns gaps into places—transforming absence into connection, culture, and everyday urban life.

005 – GREEN.DESK

Indoor GardenAfter COVID-19, “home office” has become a normal way of working, offering flexibility and time saved from commuting, but also bringing distractions from family and pets. While remote work will remain important, direct human interaction in the workplace is still essential.Based on feedback from management and staff, the project focuses on sustainability and integrating greenery throughout the building. It aims to create a work environment with the comfort of home while supporting Grimme’s vision of environmental responsibility and expanding office capacity.Inspired by traditional German pitched-roof houses, the design uses asymmetric box-like volumes to create small interior garden pockets. These green voids bring daylight and fresh air deep into the building, while vegetation inside and outside helps reduce heat and improve energy performance.Workspaces and entrances are enriched with plants to create a calm, welcoming atmosphere closely connected to nature. A shared canopy area becomes a central meeting point for breaks, encouraging exchange and relaxation during the workday.

004 – VERTICAL.GARDEN

It’s Green All AroundIn Osnabrück, Germany, a former military barracks in Landwehr is reimagined as a compact residential quarter where sustainability defines both space and daily life.The design organizes housing blocks around connected courtyards and walkways, forming an “indoor street” that blurs public and private realms. A slightly raised ground level separates living areas from parking, while three access cores link the site through elevated paths and hanging gardens.At the heart of the scheme, a shared courtyard becomes a green commons, extended upward through roof gardens for urban planting at multiple levels. Vegetation is not decoration but the core structure of the landscape.A modular grid ensures flexibility and efficiency, supported by a steel frame that carries balconies, corridors, and green extensions. Each apartment includes a small outdoor threshold, encouraging interaction and openness.With diverse housing for multiple generations, the project fosters social mix. Fully embedded in greenery from ground to roof, it creates a continuous system where architecture, nature, and community merge.

003 – E.KUBUS

Public Living RoomBerlin is planning a new central library at Blücherplatz as part of its long-term vision for a “Library of the Future.” Shaped through public dialogue, competitions, and civic input, the project extends along the River Spree, next to the historic American Memorial Library (AGB) and framed by Waterloo-Ufer and Zossener Straße.With a program of up to 37,400 m², including automated book systems and complex infrastructure, the main challenge is to embed this large volume gently into its urban context. The massing is therefore reworked: a rotated central volume opens toward Mehringplatz, easing its presence and improving spatial flow. A light structural logic of steel and cast concrete reduces visual weight while maintaining clarity and strength. Public routes are redefined to prioritize pedestrians and cyclists, increasing permeability between the new building and the existing AGB, while landscape elements stitch architecture and city together.At its core, a large atrium acts as a luminous “public living room,” linking reading zones and creating an open civic interior. More than a storage of books, the library becomes a shared space of knowledge, encounter, and everyday urban life across generations.

002 – X.BORDER

Outside the Comfort ZoneIn Hamburg’s Hafencity, a key European urban transformation zone, the city has been evolving for two decades through infrastructure, culture, and science-led development. Projects like the U4 extension, the Elbphilharmonie, and Überseequartier have shaped it into a new civic and economic center.Facing the Elbe River, opposite the Elbphilharmonie and near “Der König der Löwen,” the site offers a rare chance for a hybrid hub of science, innovation, and public exchange. Events such as “Lange Nächte” turn it into a space of shared experimentation.The design proposes a fluid, wave-like structure combining exhibition, research, production, education, a library, and a self-service restaurant into one continuous system. A concrete core holds circulation and services, while a flexible steel frame forms the outer structure.The building is split by experience: sloped floors guide visitors through exhibition worlds, while level areas support research and learning. A double-skin façade with mesh reduces solar gain, and integrated PV systems use the slope for efficiency.The project becomes a statement of forward motion – where innovation, public life, and sustainability merge into one architectural landscape.

001 – BERG.HAUS

Regeneration Instead of DemolitionSet in the Alpine landscape near Pracorno, this early 20th-century house reflects the simple, enduring craft of Southern Italy. Built from local stone and timber, its stone base was made to resist harsh winters, while the wooden upper structure follows traditional regional forms.Abandoned after World War II, the building slowly deteriorated. Yet its location on a 10,000 m² site within a touristic area gives it strong potential for renewal as a small retreat.Instead of demolition, the project preserves the original stone volume and reinforces it with a new timber structure. A second building is embedded into the slope opposite, extending the program while respecting the terrain.The historic house becomes the social heart with a café or reception below and guest rooms above. The new structure contains service functions—restaurant, sauna, storage, and technical rooms—plus four compact apartments with direct access from the road.Spaces are oriented toward the forest, strengthening the connection between architecture, landscape, and memory. The project becomes a quiet dialogue between past and present, where regeneration replaces demolition.

Born in Vietnam and raised in Germany, he studied Architecture at HCU | Hafencity University Hamburg and MSA | Münster School of Architecture, earning both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. Living and working across different cities and studios in both countries shaped a cross-cultural perspective on the relationship between humans and spatial void.His work explores the tension between the rational order of built form and the intangible phenomenology of space. Influenced by radical minimalism, his architecture seeks essence over expression—quiet, enduring, and grounded in respect for nature, imperfection, silence, and material honesty.He approaches design as a reflective practice, where creation becomes a process of inner clarity. For him, meaning arises when understanding and intention align. For him, true beauty is not noise. It lies in the ephemeral, in the empty, in the unspoken — and must be felt, not just seen.From the bottom of his heart, he extends his deepest gratitude for the opportunity to learn from such trusted and inspiring colleagues at: