in Architecture

In Hanoi, a Family Home Balances Commercial Hustle With Spiritual Haven

If many Vietnamese families often opt to reserve one room in their house plan for ancestor worship, this household in Hanoi decided to dedicate an entire backyard to their family altar.

Paul Christiansen

in Environment

An Homage to the Mekong Delta and Its Bag-Wearing Fruits

Rats, mice, mosquitos, snakes, centipedes, caterpillars, snails, beetles and slugs: the more fertile a region is, the more pests inhabit it.

in Tech

Grindr Once Again Names Vietnam Amongst Nations With Highest Percentage of Bottoms

Started by Spotify, Unwrapped has become one of tech companies’ favorite marketing campaigns in recent years; LinkedIn, Duolingo, and even Vietnam’s own Zalo are amongst some revelers of this trend in recent years. Last year, gay dating app Grindr continued the tradition with their own annual insights, and Vietnam managed to claim a spot in the roundup.

in Environment

On the 12th Day of Christmas Saigoneer Gave to Me: 12 Birdcalls From Across Vietnam

Almost everywhere we go in the world, birdsong abounds.

Paul Christiansen

in Natural Selection

Crickets Are More Than Just Chirpy Reminders of Our Childhood

Cricket song. You read the words and immediately hear the chirping. That thrilling trill of strummed air. Humans have been hearing that quivering echo since we first came into existence. And over time, we’ve attached a variety of meanings to it and the creature that makes it.

in Tech

The People Building a Virtual Vietnam in the Pixelated World of Minecraft

Minecraft is now a modern classic world-building game allowing players to construct elaborate buildings using isometric cubes. Thanks to this endless stream of materials, one can theoretically build anything in the game world if they have enough patience and attention to details.

in Parks & Rec

In Đà Nẵng, a Close-Knit Surfing Community Rides the Waves

Đà Nẵng does not feel like a surf town. The gaudy beachside nightclubs are a far cry from the bohemian vibes of Hawaii or San Diego, and the coastline is more synonymous with basket boats than surfboards. Look for it, however, and you’ll find a subculture of beach breaks, skate bowl surf shacks, board rental huts, and passionate surfers within a tight knit but welcoming community.

in Environment

As Infrastructure Lags Behind, Saigon's Poorest Hardest Hit by Worsening Flooding

In April this year, in the first downpour of southern Vietnam’s rainy season, the narrow rented room where Mã Thị Diệp and her children were staying in Hồ Chí Minh City was inundated by knee-high water.

Back Society

in Architecture

[Photos] Hanoi Architects Grow Creative Ecosystem Inside Slender Tube House

Completed last year, the VUUV building takes the tube house structure and turns it into a multi-purpose complex filled with dynamic hangouts and creative platforms. 

in Parks & Rec

Saigon's Only Bonsai School Grooms Budding Artisans on a Century-Old Craft

Bonsai has often been regarded as an activity for the elderly, but the local bonsai community is experiencing an unprecedented renewal thanks to the participation of an unexpected demographic: young p...

Paul Christiansen

in Natural Selection

Cây Đa: A Tree That Contains Multitudes

A book, a beer and some shade, what else does one need?

in Environment

Two Illustrated Books by Vietnamese Conservationist to Have Global Release

They tell the story of a Vietnamese woman working to rescue a bear and an elephant.

in Environment

Living From the Earth at Ninh Binh's Lá Library

A stone's throw away from Cuc Phuong National Park in Ninh Binh Province sits La Library, an education center promoting sustainable living through sustainable agriculture farming, earthen building tec...

in Tech

Vietnam Proposes Using GPS Trackers to Monitor Incoming Arrivals in Quarantine

The Vietnam-made GPS bracelets would allow authorities to better manage those required to be in isolation at home or in central facilities.

Linh Pham

in Environment

How China's Upstream Dams Affect Communities Along the Red River

Flooding and biodiversity among concerns for people in Vietnam below the cascade of Red river dams.

Khoi Pham

in Architecture

On Phu Quy Island, a Curious Collection of Modernist Houses From Central Vietnam

From the 1960s towards the end of the 1970s, urban centers in southern Vietnam saw robust and widespread growth of modernist influences in architecture. Still, outside the usual foci of the movement l...

in Architecture

[Photos] Hanoian Kindergarten Adds a Funky, Sunny Twist to Its Asymmetrical Design

Faced with the restrictions of rigid urban planning rules, school building projects in central areas of cities often have limited control of their land usage and surroundings.

in Tech

Team Behind 500 Startups Vietnam Launches New Venture Fund

Vietnam's venture capital scene is about to welcome a new player run by veterans of the industry.

Michael Tatarski

in Environment

The Hopes and Challenges of Vietnam's Ambitious Plan to Plant 1bn Trees

In October and November of 2020, a relentless barrage of nine typhoons and tropical storms slammed into Vietnam, setting off record floods and countless landslides. Nearly 200 people died, and propert...

in Architecture

The Aesthetic Yet Functional Role of Shade in the Genome of Vietnam's Modernist Architecture

Since the mid-twentieth century, Vietnamese architecture has started to be made from industrial materials such as concrete, steel, glass, et.. This resulted in Vietnamese modernism, a branch of global...

in Health

Hanoi to Increase Stipend for Members of Covid-19 Prevention Force by 70%

Hanoi has proposed an additional 70% increase in the stipend for the capital’s COVID-19 prevention and control forces.

Paul Christiansen

in Natural Selection

Thạch Sùng: A Muse in Every Home

“I dream of lost vocabularies that might express some of what we no longer can,” wrote poet Jack Gilbert.

in Health

Vietnam to Allocate $1.1bn to Buy 150m Doses of Covid-19 Vaccines This Year

Amidst current struggles to keep pace with global inoculation rates, Vietnam plans to secure enough doses of several vaccines to immunize 75% of the population by the end of the year. 

in Architecture

[Photos] Old Couple Finds Refuge in Lush Quang Ninh Abode

A house in Vietnam's coal country brings open air and greenery to an industrial landscape.

in Architecture

[Photos] The Thu Duc Pavilion Resembling a Giant Arts and Crafts Project

Remember making arts and crafts projects using wooden popsicle sticks?

Michael Tatarski

in Environment

Meet 'Reporter Pangolin,' the Star of a New Campaign to Combat Pangolin Consumption

A new conservation campaign focused on pangolins has harnessed the power of social media to get its message across.

in Tech

Vietnamese Developer of 'Axie Infinity' Game App Raises $7.5m in Investment

The funding is a result of the success of Axie Infinity, a popular game that involves raising, breeding, collecting, and battling virtual creatures known as Axies.

Michael Tatarski

in Parks & Rec

Emerging From Complete Obscurity, Saigon Roller Derby Storms the Rink

It’s a Tuesday night in Binh Quoi, and a group is lacing up their skates at a skating rink next to a football pitch.