Page 51 - #64 eng 电子版

OASIS

OF

HANOI

Vietnam.

W e can all imagine how crazy can be a big city and

how desperately we sometimes need a break from
it without actually leaving the place. Farming Stu-
dio, an architecture company with offices in Italy
and Vietnam, has completed the Koi Cafe within a three-story house
in Hanoi, Vietnam. The venue is inspired to urban agriculture and
features an aquaponic vegetable garden which allows for the creation
of an actual self-contained ecosystem. The structure is a blend of
fishes, aquariums and plantations, with a soft spot for koi carps,
known in Chinese culture as an icon of perseverance and strength.
The double perforated façade echoes the scales of the koi carp, and
mixes the brick wall with bending, concrete tiles of reddish colour.
In other words, Farming Studio is back to exalt the importance of
nature and its tight link with a man. Koi Cafe at Hanoi was execut-
ed based on the principle of sustainable living with a design centred
around an aquaponics system. For the uninitiated, this method
combines conventional aquaculture, raising aquatic animals such
as fish or prawns in tanks, with hydroponics (cultivating plants in
water) in a symbiotic environment.

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