Huong An Vien Visiting Center

The Huong An Vien Visiting Center, set within a natural landscape as part of a cemetery area about 10 km southwest Hue, is a structure made purely out of bamboo. 
Traditionally, cemeteries are associated with the heavy atmosphere of death, loss and grief, creating a sense of melancholia. Therefore, the client and architects agreed to seek for an architectural solution to design a more peaceful and tranquil space.
Surrounded by a network of four lakes and nearby mountains, the park of Huong An Vien is home to trees, flowers and a variety of other vegetation, which already helps creating a lighter and brighter feeling. Hence, in terms of architectural design, the highly-curved bamboo roof took inspiration the softness and tenderness of nearby Hue city and Huong River - a common association among Vietnamese people. Further down, the eave is low positioned, technically designed to protect the inner structure direct sunlight and rain, at the same time  allowing the space to stay open and obtain the human scale. The Huong An Vien Visiting Center appears to be a landmark in the park, yet showing its respect and gratitude to the ones who have passed away. 
The main hall and the auxiliary buildings all take advantage of the well-maintained and clean environment. Natural and affordable local materials such as bamboo, thatch and bricks were chosen for the design. Perforated bricks, for instance, allow air flow and light to come inside. During the day, the building doesn^t need any air-conditioning or artificial lighting. 
Each building requires only a single module that applied to the simple structure, assembled fast with a low-budget regarding the construction as well as operation.