Vietnamese brick house bags coveted architecture award

By Ban Mai June 9, 2018 | 04:42 pm PT

The brick house in Vietnam's Quang Ngai Province which has won the Wienerberger Brick Award 2018.

The unique structure was constructed in 2016 by a group of local architects to connect brick lovers.

A house sheltered by a perforated cube of clay bricks in the central province of Quang Ngai has claimed the Wienerberger Brick Award 2018 in the Austrian capital of Vienna.

Terra Cotta Studio, a creative working space earmarked for ceramic artists, won the “Working Together” category at the biennial awards, one of the most respected in the industry.

The award was launched in 2004.

A group of ceramic artisans from Tropical Space Co., Ltd., a Ho Chi Minh City-based architecture firm, designed the house with unique ideas using solid bricks as the main material. The team said their main purpose was not only to create a working space for ceramic artisans but also a meeting point of brick lovers to share their passion.

Boxed in: Standing on the banks of the Thu Bon River in Dien Ban District, the two-storey house covers an area of 49 square meters, and is surrounded by a small vegetable garden and bamboo fence.

All aglow: At first glance, the building looks like a traditional ceramic kiln with a touch of Cham culture.

Airy: “On one hand, the separating layer made of brick creates a certain privacy for the artist, on the other hand, the bricks allow some of the wind to blow through so that you get a natural breeze cooled by the river,” Tran Thi Ngu Ngon, one of the four architects of the house, said at the award ceremony.

Functional: The center of this cube-shaped building is surrounded by a three-storey bamboo frame platform, used for drying out terracotta products and presenting artworks.