LC1,37 Office is conceived as a retreat - an architecture that withdraws from the chaotic urban context to construct a controlled interior world for working and contemplation.
The site is located within a dense, polluted urban fabric lacking greenery. The project sits immediately adjacent to an airport runway, with its frontage directly bordering the runway corridor, resulting in height restrictions and significant noise exposure. At the same time, the street in front carries heavy traffic and near-constant congestion, subjecting the site to noise, dust, and intense tropical heat.
The client is a person of strong faith, requiring a space that accommodates both working and contemplation, along with specific elements such as the presence of twelve Apostles on the façade and a cross within the interior.
The building appears as a monolithic black volume, in contrast to its surroundings. This form is not driven by formal intention but shaped by environmental conditions. The solid envelope acts as a filter, reducing noise, heat, and visual disturbance. Façade elements are reorganized to meet initial requirements while establishing a distinct architectural identity.
Within a footprint of only 36 square meters, the project integrates working and basic living functions. The ground floor is organized as a continuous open space, including a kitchen, coffee roasting area, sanitary space, and seating. Above, a mezzanine suspended from the roof forms a more private layer for focused work and rest, while eliminating columns to maintain openness. Space is not divided into enclosed rooms but articulated through section—through levels, depth, and vertical relationships.
At the center, a vertical axis associated with the cross is established, forming an atrium that draws natural light deep into the interior. The material palette - matte black surfaces, exposed concrete, steel, and glass - intensifies the contrast between light and shadow, allowing light to become perceptible as it moves across surfaces. This space also acts as an interface between architecture and natural elements, supporting ventilation, allowing rainwater to enter, and maintaining a continuous connection between inside and outside.
The sloped roof reinforces this system, combined with a misting layer that cools the roof surface, reducing heat gain while creating a rainfall-like effect into the planted atrium below. Openings are carefully controlled to admit light and air while limiting solar gain and noise; glass louvers on the façade facilitate passive airflow, drawing air through the space and exhausting it via the atrium and rear openings. Roof apertures are fitted with insect screens to ensure practical usability.
LC1,37 Office proposes an alternative approach to workspace. Within a limited footprint, the project does not pursue openness or exposure, but constructs spatial depth through layers of space, darkness, and guided light. Architecture becomes a medium that connects environmental performance with spiritual intent, forming a space where use extends beyond function toward contemplation.
Principal Architect: Nguyen Duc Huy
Design Team: Nguyen Duc Huy, Mai Ba Nhat
Photographs: Quang Tran
