The Brix Restaurant & Momentum Living Showroom | StudioDuo Architecture & Interior
The Brix is a tropical restaurant located in the heart of District 2, the ex-pat neighborhood of Ho Chi Minh City. The highly dense and polluted megalopolis of Ho Chi Minh brought us the desire to create a small lush oasis where to take a break from the concrete jungle.
Visit: StudioDuo Architecture & Interior
The premise of the project was to create an outdoor environment cooled down through passive design. The 120 pax restaurant seats between a water body, the swimming pool, and an extensive tropical garden. The perimeter walls design, allow the air to flow through them creating a cross ventilation current from the cold swimming pool air out to the hot street, thus, cooling down the central space.
Momentum Living Showroom is an intervention of an existing French neo-colonial building. The approach was to completely break from the stereotypical existing architecture and contrast it with the lush and tropical design of The Brix.
The organic and curvy shapes of the pergola are designed to create a game of ins and outs between the building and the landscape. Thanks to this approach, multiple corners full of life start to appear throughout the project, allowing the landscape to embrace the space and cleansing the air around the restaurant.
Locally sourced wood and ceramic bricks were the chosen materials to give shape to the building, in order to create a link with the traditional construction materials of South Vietnam. From the pattern of the Brix to the manufacturing of the Brix and the local landscape, all materials used are found in Vietnamese vernacular architecture.
The structural approach and construction methods are taken from the industrialization period of Vietnam, with the intention of linking the more traditional and nostalgic Saigon, with the new and industrious city of today.
The industrial interior design is meant to break with the surroundings and create a clean and minimalistic template for a furniture showroom where the products are the main focus. Large windows were opened to brighten the space up and create a game of shadows between the industrial interior and the landscape surrounding the building. With such a minimal design, we aimed to create a canvas where furniture, light, and shadow will fill the space.
Fact File:
Designed by: StudioDuo Architecture & Interior
Project: The Brix Restaurant & Momentum Living Showroom
Project type: Restaurant, Showroom
Year of completion: 2020
Area: 2700 sq. mt.
Location: Vietnam
Lead Architect: Arturo Moreno, Sarah Jacquemond
Design Team: Nguyen Da Thao
Client: Momentum Living
Photography: Đỗ Sỹ
Source: ArchDaily
Editor’s Note: Some places feel rooted because they belong to their surroundings rather than trying to stand apart from them. Coffee Sangam in Andhra Pradesh takes this approach through a raw, tactile palette of brick, stone, teak, and mild steel. The random rubble compound wall extends the landscape into the architecture, while the Corten steel […]
Envisioned as a contemporary home rooted in Indian sensibilities, this residence sits on a south-facing urban plot. The design accommodates the evolving lifestyle of a multi-generational family. The project integrates architecture and interiors to create functional, climate-responsive, and emotionally connected spaces. Each level balances privacy with interaction. The design also allows flexibility for changing family […]
Editorial Note: Some homes are shaped by the memories, objects, and stories their residents carry with them. Ungana in Chennai, meaning “merge” in Swahili, brings together a well-travelled family’s collection of antiques and everyday rituals within a narrow urban plot. A double-height living space becomes the heart of the home, connecting the kitchen and dining […]
House of the Framed Atrium explores how a contemporary home can revolve around light, connection, and shared experiences. The design follows the ideas of a Living Atrium, Living with Nature, Framed Volumes, Vertical Living, and Timeless Materiality. The residence connects a sequence of interconnected spaces around a dramatic triple-height atrium. The atrium forms the heart […]
A Mock-up That Became a Home – For an architecture practice, a mock-up often helps test an idea before the team translates it into a larger project. It allows architects to work at full scale, examine materials and construction techniques, and understand their limitations. The process also gives them room to test different brick bonds and […]
The house began not with a formal brief, but with a conversation about the kind of life the clients hoped to build within it. Set between the denser urban fabric of Kannur and the quieter residential landscapes of North Kerala, the project responds to a desire for openness and connection. At the same time, the […]
“Pravah” — A House That Breathes is envisioned as the main concept of this home revolves around a fluid, light-filled home where architecture becomes a continuous experience of movement, air, and connection. Located in Pal Gamtal, Surat, the project is a residential redevelopment on a 1,850 sq.ft. plot within a dense urban fabric. The site, […]
Timeless architectural features, such as courtyards, are always associated with bringing the naturally public forms to the world’s heart, building the most peaceful, secluded outdoor areas. These outdoor spaces maximize the living experience with their private space feature, which gives one the option for leisurely relaxation, recreation, or gardening. Furthermore, it has also been a […]
Architecture font choices go beyond style—they shape how your work is perceived. From portfolios to presentations, the right architecture font instantly communicates clarity, precision, and personality. As architects, we design not just with space but with every detail, including typography. Selecting a strong architecture font shows your commitment to visual storytelling and design consistency. In […]
The Indian farmhouse accommodation goes on to capitalize on a mature evolutionary synthesis of ancestral aesthetics and contemporary features. With this, the outside and the inside of farmhouses became places of comfort with nature. In this blog, we delve into 15 incredible farmhouse designs that entail a harmonious blending. While they exhibit different spaces in […]