Kontum Indochine Wedding Restaurant

[Kontum Indochine Wedding Restaurant]

Architect Firm: Vo Trong Nghia Architects
Principal architects: Vo Trong Nghia, Takashi Niwa (2 principals)
Architect: Dau Nhat Quang
Status: Built in 07. 2013
Program: Banquet hall
Location: Kontum, Vietnam
GFA: 5,524m2
Photographs: Hiroyuki Oki
Client: Truong Long JSC
Contractor: Truong Long JSC + Wind and Water House JSC

Kontum Indochine Wedding Restaurant is designed as a part of a hotel complex along the Dakbla River in Kontum City, Central Vietnam. Adjacent to Dakbla Bridge, a gateway to Kontum City, the restaurant serves as a venue for wedding ceremonies, conferences and social activities of the hotel guests and citizens. The 5500-square-meter building, which contains three banquet halls and office space over three stories, is covered by louvers made of local pink granite stone, quarried in Binh Dinh Province, 150km away from the site. The louvers blur the outline and details of the building, creating an abstract volume, well balanced with the surrounding landscape. Two different finishes were applied to each louver; its front surface was polished, creating a sparkling exterior when exposed to sunlight, while the two edges and back surface were framed to soften the light coming into the building. Visitors can enjoy the view of the river through the louvers in light pink, being protected from harsh tropical sunlight. The three banquet halls feature three different natural materials; stone, bamboo, and wood. Walls and columns of the "Stone Hall", located on the ground floor and capable of 800 guests, are composed of Basalt stone slabs 120 deep, 80mm high and 595mm long. These stone slabs have different surfaces; pitch-faced, polished or hammered, creating both dignified and delicate spatial characteristics, which are well suited to festive ceremonies.
Both the “Bamboo Hall” and “Wooden Hall” are located on the second level, each having capacity for 400 guests. The materials vary between the two halls, giving different characteristics of each space.

The “Bamboo Hall” is a ceremonial space composed of self-standing bamboo frames 6.5m high and spanning 18m. These bamboo frames are illuminated by the light fittings, hence the hall gives a quiet and intimate impression compared to the bamboo structure in the adjacent facility; “Indochine café” which is a commodious open space.

The “Wooden Hall” has a ceiling consisting of nine fan shaped louvers. The louvers are made of 20mm x 50mm brightly colored pieces of endemic timber locally called “Kate”. The ceiling gently illuminates the interior functions similar to a light shade.
Natural light and air pass through the pink stone louvers into the foyer, which lies in front of the two halls and is accessible from the staircase on both ends of the building.