Nanoco Panasonic Showroom, Hanoi
Vo Trong Nghia Architects 

Nanoco Panasonic Showroom, Hanoi

Vo Trong Nghia Architects 


Located in the Dong Da district of the Vietnamese capital, the four-story prismatic building harbors two complementary programs: on the one hand, a showroom for the lighting products of an electronics company; on the other hand, an exhibition gallery and a workspace for architects and professionals in the field of lighting design. The showroom is laid out around a central void with a main staircase, so that visitors are able to see all the products on display; the gallery and work areas are on the top floor, with views over the treetops and a connection to the roof garden, pierced by large skylights and covered with local plant species.

The most characteristic feature of The Lantern, as the construction is widely called, is the skin of 5,625 perforated terracotta blocks which can be assembled quickly, aside from being very cheap. The blocks present a fretwork pattern of flower shapes directly inspired in traditional Vietnamese ornamentation. It is a permeable building solution that provides shade to protect from strong sunlight and, at the same time, favors adequate ventilation indoors, a key requirement in tropical climates. 


Cliente Client 

Fortune-Nano Electrical Company

Arquitectos Architects

VTN Architects / Vo Trong Nghia, Takashi Niwa (socios partners); Nguyen Thi Thoa, Koji Yamamoto, Dao Sy Dung (equipo team)

Contratista Contractor

Dai Dung JSC, T.S.I. Vietnam (interior)

Superficie construida Floor area 

383 m²

Fotos Photos 

Trieu Chien; Hiroyuki Oki