D1 Architectural Studio.: Winner of World Design Awards 2021. The hotel was born from the owner’s wish to create a boutique hotel that is to be the conjunction of paradoxes: young but cultured, green but not bushy, artsy but not gaudy. From this brief D1 Architectural Studio has created a unique design that makes the project stand distinct from the masses, leaving its signature mark on the landscape of the capital.

The design of Idyllic Hotel imitates a bird nest. Guests residing in the hotel can immerse in a fantasy tropical oasis, hearing the birds chirping from afar, tasting the freshness of raindrops, and sensing each subtle change in the ambience as each day unfolds.   

While relating its residents to the surrounding neighborhood, the building pays attention to preserving their sacred tranquility, shielding them from the trepidation of the outside world.

A layered existence

Intended to be the medium that relates nature and society to one another, Idyllic Hotel incorporates an open garden in each guest room. The garden not only adds green to the building but also serves as a natural filter, preventing the harsh sunlight from entering the room directly. Other hotels in Hanoi, that follow the bland and boring composite box structure, resolved this climatic problem merely by installing heavy curtains, D1 Architectural Studio discovered instead an organic solution.

The window glass is slided back to allow interaction with the outside atmosphere.

Sitting in the tranquility of their rooms, for guests to hear the shouts of street vendors and chatty pedestrians stopping each other for daily small talks. The bird nest facade, formed by a layer of aluminum bars hand sculpted to resemble random branches that birds collected to build their homes, acts as a veil, adorning the hotel with womanly grace. The open gardens on each room’s balconies all together comprise a vertical garden, making the building come alive in a vibrant green carpet.

Like a piece of fossil, the hotel is complex and delicate in its own way.

Conception of the idea

The design was conceived through the architect’s resonance with the local culture. Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, carries itself into the modern day with the characteristic tranquility and charming authenticity of timeworn houses nestled together in small alleys. The process of rapid urbanization has pushed such delicate beauties further back in memories, leaving on its path motorways and bulky, lifeless, monotonous high-rise buildings. D1 Architectural Studio wishes to change this reality and to breathe the soul of ancient Hanoi back into the architecture. The owner of Idyllic Hotel shares the same idea with us, taking from their own experience, they do not want their hotel to be another fast-moving construction goods – easy to build, easy to sell and quickly outdated. Idyllic is to be a construction that has long lasting values.

Design from a wellbeing perspective

Health: sliding the window glass back only 2m2 to make space for the terrace garden has a considerable impact on reducing the air conditioning bill, as the garden relieves the building and its occupants from the heat and stress of the capital city.  The sunlight that enters the room through the garden is very gentle and soothing.

D1 installed an outdoor bath in the terrace garden to allow guests to immerse in nature. A curtain can be pulled to maintain privacy. while retaining its independence, the entire space of the guest room, only 25m2 in total, is kept in connection with the surrounding landscape.

Honoring a minimalist approach: Cost optimization was one of the priorities in this project. Every item, every interior element was based on simple, available materials and tailor made for the room size – not too small, not too extravagant, just simple, modest and compact.

Art & Culture as integral parts of architecture

D1Architectural Studio thinks of art as a change in perception: art need not be flashy, but rather appreciative. Art is not a product, rather a practice. The artist is one who appreciate simple beauties and weave them into his art.

During the site visit to the stone carving village in Central Vietnam, D1 Architectural Studio found that the artisans only pick precious gemstones to work with, and discard those they consider not valuable. This insight gave D1 team the idea of bringing these discarded fossils into work as decorative elements in the new hotel, to show visitors that even crude rocks are beautiful in their own ways. The owner of the project, whose main business is gemstone trading, welcomed this idea and gave D1 their support.

Working side by side with local artisans: A network of connection with local and national artisans had been mobilized in the construction of the building: Bat Trang Ceramics Village in Hanoi, Non Nuoc Stone Carving Village in Danang City, and local wood handicraft villages…this has been D1’s strategy since its establishment to collaborate with local artisans to preserve traditional arts and embed Vietnamese culture into each design. With this approach we continuously preserve traditional arts, while modernizing their designs, in order to keep local craft villages in competition with other suppliers in the market.

Connecting with the local art scene: the reception hall in the ground floor serves as the main exhibition space for young Vietnamese artists to impress visitors with their artworks.  This is one of the contributions D1 makes to the capital city, reflecting our commitment to elevating Vietnam’s budding contemporary art community.

Status of completion: under construction
Site area: 320m2
Floor area: 2245m2
Capacity: 75 rooms (9 floors)
Client: Stonimex Co., Ltd.
Lead Architect: Nguyễn Thanh Tân
Interior Designer: D1 Architectural Studio
Lead Designer: Architect Le Thi Trang
Structural Design: Bui Van Nhut
Electromechanical Design: Lam Ngoc Khoi
Construction supervisor: Nguyen Viet Thang
Lightning consultant: Van My Khanh Co., Ltd.
Contractor: Mộc An Phước Construction – Design – Consultancy

Project Details
Firm
D1 Architectural Studio

Project Name
IDYLLIC Hotel 

Architect/Designer
Tan Nguyen

World Design Awards Category
Hospitality Concept

Project Location
Ha Noi

Team
D1 Architectural Studio

Country
Vietnam

Photography ©Credit
©Quang Tran

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Established in 2017, D1 architectural studio is a leading architectural firm in Vietnam based in Ho Chi Minh City. The company’s team with more than 30 architects, engineers and staffs, both local and international, are working closely in residential, hotel, office and commercial projects throughout Vietnam.

By selectively integrating cultural elements into each project, D1 architectural studio has created projects that are both traditional and distinctively contemporary. We consider each project a work of art, intended to grace to the urban scene and at the same time help to connect people with people, people with the nature and with nature itself.

Placing emphasis on the sustainability of the project, D1 architectural studio work with skilled artists and artisans throughout the country to preserve and further develop traditional Vietnamese craft industries in the 21^st century.

D1 Architectural Studio, in conjunction with the construction company AMACONS CONTRUCTION, oversee a project from beginning to completion, ensuring continuous monitoring and working closely with the client throughout.