The Kaleidoscope Edificio de Oficinas e Residencial by Inrestudio

The Kaleidoscope Edificio de Oficinas e Residencial by Inrestudio is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2023 A' Design Award de Prata in Deseño de Arquitectura, Edificación e Estruturas Competition Category.

PrataArquitectura· 2023

The Kaleidoscope Edificio de Oficinas e Residencial

by Inrestudio

Client: Hoang Long Mineral JSC

A' Design Award de Prata Winner in Arquitectura Category

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Verified Award Winner

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The Design

About The Kaleidoscope Edificio de Oficinas e Residencial

O Kaleidoscope é un edificio de oficinas e residencial situado nun recinto fabril no centro de Vietnam. O edificio érguese entre un outeiro e o mar, e enmarca vistas diversas en diferentes direccións e en distintos momentos do día. A cuberta segue a forma do Non La, o sombreiro tradicional dos labregos vietnamitas que bloquea o sol e a chuvia mentres deixa pasar o vento por debaixo. Muros macizos en forma de V crean cuartos privados triangulares e espazos compartidos máis amplos entre eles. Bloques de formigón prefabricado perforado feitos a medida proporcionan privacidade e ventilación natural.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award de Prata

The Kaleidoscope Edificio de Oficinas e Residencial gañou o A' Design Award de Prata, un recoñecemento enormemente prestixioso outorgado a deseños de gama alta, fermosos e impresionantes. Os gañadores Prata son obras tremendamente brillantes e sumamente creativas que ilustran a pericia, o talento e a agudeza sobresaíntes dos seus deseñadores. Espérase que The Kaleidoscope Edificio de Oficinas e Residencial sexa unha obra marabillosa, escaparate de oficio, notablemente profesional e profundamente innovadora. Este deseño gañador do A' Design Award de Prata é unha invención moi notable e admirada que beneficia e fai avanzar os límites da arte, a ciencia, o deseño e a tecnoloxía. The Kaleidoscope Edificio de Oficinas e Residencial é unha creación moi envexada que esperta desexos, achega sentimentos positivos e prende asombro e marabilla.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: The Kaleidoscope is the living and working building located at a factory site in central Vietnam. The surrounding region is well known for its severe climate: a hot wind blows in the dry season and typhoons and floods during the rainy season. The building is placed between the hill and the sea, and frames a series of diverse (kaleidoscopic) views in directions and times. The project aims at creating a protected space from the harsh tropical climate, and enhancing the user’s contact with nature.
Dimensions & Packaging: The roof plan fits into a 32,330mm diameter circle, while the building measures 15,250mm high.
Major specifications are listed below.
Roof: trowel-finished mortar
Ceiling: exposed concrete (public spaces) / paint (private rooms)
Exterior wall: trowel-finished mortar, fiber-reinforced concrete block
Interior wall: stucco (public spaces), paint (private rooms)
Exterior floor: terrazzo (2F) / washout concrete (1F)
Interior floor: solid wood, terrazzo (public spaces) / ceramic tile (private rooms)
Tags: Vietnamese architecture, tropical architecture, rural architecture, concrete architecture, sustainable architecture, office building, residential building, open building, passive energy, non la
Production Technology: Perforated ventilation blocks are common building elements in tropical regions to moderate environmental factors. Custom precast ventilation blocks compose the outer surfaces of the solid volumes to provide privacy to the inner rooms. These fiber-reinforced concrete blocks have larger dimensions (500 x 500mm) than usual (200 x 200mm), and match the grand scale of the surrounding backdrop. The hollow precast blocks were interlocked on site by pouring concrete into their cavities.
Design Challenge: The project was realized after a 5-year long process in an outlying region of Vietnam. The construction was carried out by a mixed team of experienced builders from Saigon, the largest city in Vietnam, and local barely experienced farmer-builders. The process was characterized by numerous moments of deliberate procedures and impromptu solutions, contributing to the evolution of the local workmanship and offering a window into the potential of rural construction.
Research: In Vietnam, there are many office buildings that only import the style of modern office buildings but fail to adapt it to the local climate. These buildings apply large glass surfaces on their flat facade and, as is often the case, office workers close the blinds throughout working hours to block the strong sunlight. The Kaleidoscope is one of a series of projects called Tropical Office Projects, which aims at discovering location-specific design languages for modern office buildings.
Inspiration: The characteristic roof of the building inherits the idea of Non La, a Vietnamese traditional farmer’s hat made of palm leaf, that a large conical surface shuts out sunlight and rain while allowing for the wind underneath. In order to enhance the natural ventilation, solid walls are arranged perpendicularly to the roof periphery. These form a series of V-shapes to cut out triangular private rooms while defining a large in-between space that is used for the public functions.
Project Duration: The project design was started in 2017 in Saigon and the construction was completed in 2022 in Quang Binh, Vietnam.
Operation Flow: Located in a remote area, the building provides both living and working spaces for the users. Under a single roof, various functions of the building are organized by seven triangular volumes that defines private and common spaces. The inside of the volumes accommodates closed functions such as bedrooms and private offices, while the space between the volumes holds gathering functions such as the central office and parlors.
Team Members: Nguyen Quynh Han
Vo Hanh Nhan
Image Credits: #1: Photographer Hiroyuki Oki, non-title, 2022
#2: Photographer Hiroyuki Oki, non-title, 2022
#3: Photographer Hiroyuki Oki, non-title, 2022
#4: Photographer Hiroyuki Oki, non-title, 2022
#5: Photographer Hiroyuki Oki, non-title, 2022