Across the rapidly modernizing urban landscape of Vietnam, Huế stands out as a bastion of traditions, not just in its city layout, rich historical wealth, and court cuisine, but also in the way the city has somehow managed to largely resist the power of rampant urbanization. This architectural project in Huế is a great example of a new structure that can quite seamlessly merge old and new into something mesmerizing.
Designed by Huế-based firm Cote Architects, Vương Đình Temple is based on the ancestral garden of the Vương Đình family in Thủy Biều Village, 5 kilometers from downtown Huế. Like many historical villages in Huế, the neighborhood is peppered with garden estates following the former capital’s distinctive architecture. While the temple was constructed in 2024, its design did a sterling job blending in with the surroundings.
As a family temple, the building’s main function is hosting the family altars while also providing space for gatherings and meals on special occasions. The layout on the ground floor is crafted for that precise purpose, featuring kitchen counters and even a queen bed for meal preparation and resting.
The Vương Đình family altars are housed on the second floor, connecting to a gorgeous veranda decked out in wooden motifs overlooking the garden of pomelo trees below — thanh trà pomelo is Huế’s nationally renowned cultivar. At the entrance below, two stone guardian dogs are placed on the sides, in line with building traditions in Huế.
While the interior is predominantly furnished with traditional materials like bare bricks and dark wood tones, the temple is enveloped in a cubic reinforced concrete shell, lending the building its contemporary influence. The shell is balanced on two concrete beams below, making the whole structure look as if it’s “floating.”
It’s also interesting to note that many design decisions behind Vương Đình Temple were made to adapt to Huế’s unique environs, where flooding frequently occurs during the last quarter of the year. These include balancing the concrete shell on the beams and placing the important altars high up on the next floor.
Have a closer look at Vương Đình Temple below:
Photos by Hoàng Lê via ArchDaily.
