#hanoi

#hanoi

Nang House is a small house, built in the rural suburbs of Hanoi, where urbanization is taking place more and more rapidly, gradually breaking down the traditional rural structure.

For many, the city of Hanoi is a gateway to northern Vietnam 's great adventures-the emerald islets of Ha Long Bay, the terraced hills of Sapa, the karst valleys of Ninh Bình-but it's well worth pausing here before venturing on. Over more than a thousand years, the country's capital has seen imperial dynasties raising Confucian temples, French colonists carving out tamarind-shaded boulevards and yellow-walled villas, and revolutionaries leaving behind slogans, statues, and scars of self-determination-resulting in a gritty yet graceful second city.

This thin ribbed concrete shell functions entirely in compression, distributing loads to a few internal supports and multiple perimeter points along the square island base, which forms the archetypal footprint of the building. Between the ribs, the structure allows for openings, while the outer rain screen, expected to be clad in ceramic tiles, follows the shell's complex curvature. These tiles vary in size to create a pixelated texture that shimmers with a mother-of-pearl effect, subtly shifting with changing light and weather conditions.

Bún Chả Hương Liên is a very unassuming establishment. It's cheap, busy, and dimly lit, with plain white tiled walls, communal metal tables, and flimsy plastic stools - not exactly where you picture a former U.S. president dining. Bún chả is a traditional Hanoi dish made with marinated pork patties, grilled pork belly, vermicelli noodles, broth, and herbs. It's delicious, and Bún Chả Hương Liên does an amazing job with it.