{"id":2777,"date":"2026-05-18T20:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T11:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/?post_type=news&p=2777"},"modified":"2026-05-18T20:20:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T11:20:00","slug":"heritage-cafes-10","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/news\/heritage-cafes-10\/","title":{"rendered":"ArchDaily's picks: 10 caf\u00e9s reborn from French-colonial apartments and old merchant houses, the new guardians of Vietnam's architectural heritage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Architecture outlet ArchDaily features \"caf\u00e9s that brought heritage back to life\"<\/h2>\n

ArchDaily, one of the world's largest architecture outlets, has published a feature titled \"Everyday Heritage: 10 Vietnamese Coffee Shops Reviving Small-Scale Traditional Buildings.\" It highlights 10 caf\u00e9s reborn from small buildings once at risk of demolition, from French colonial villas and 1950s modernist houses to prewar shophouses.<\/p>\n

The common theme is \"balancing preservation and use.\" It shows how architects convert existing structures into contemporary caf\u00e9 spaces while retaining as much of the original as possible. Rather than tearing buildings down, they protect them by keeping them in use. That practice is embodied in these 10 caf\u00e9s.<\/p>\n

The full list of 10 standout caf\u00e9s<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Shop name<\/th>\nDesign<\/th>\nBuilding's origin<\/th>\nLocation<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
The Cocoa Project Cafe<\/td>\nT3 Architects<\/td>\n1950s modernist house<\/td>\nHo Chi Minh City<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Running Bean<\/td>\nRed5studio<\/td>\nHistorically preserved architecture<\/td>\nHanoi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CoCo Cha Taiwan Tea & Coffee<\/td>\nPT Arch Studio<\/td>\nA fusion of classic castle-style architecture<\/td>\nCentral Vietnam<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Namra Coffee<\/td>\nD1 Architectural Studio<\/td>\n1970s wedding-dress showroom<\/td>\nHo Chi Minh City<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Okkio Duy Tan Caffe<\/td>\nsgnhA<\/td>\nFrench colonial semi-detached villa<\/td>\nHo Chi Minh City<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DeHue Coffee<\/td>\nson.studio<\/td>\nTraditional Hue wooden architecture<\/td>\nHue<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tan Coffee<\/td>\nSon Studio<\/td>\nA disused factory (retaining the concrete ceiling at the front)<\/td>\nSouthern Vietnam<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sipply Coffee<\/td>\nsgnhA<\/td>\nModernist structure<\/td>\nHo Chi Minh City<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Adiuvat Coffee Roaster<\/td>\nA+H architect<\/td>\nPre-1975 townhouse<\/td>\nQuy Nhon<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bo Bakery<\/td>\nNhabe Scholae<\/td>\nShophouse in Saigon's old quarter<\/td>\nHo Chi Minh City<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The Cocoa Project: reconnecting with home through Mekong Delta cacao<\/h2>\n

T3 Architects renovated a 1950s modernist house in Ho Chi Minh City. Carefully stripping away the original architectural design that decades of industrial use had concealed, they brought it back to life as a space dedicated to cacao and patisserie. The signature offering is a chocolate drink made with cacao from the Mekong Delta.<\/p>\n

Okkio Duy Tan: a cup brewed in one of the few remaining French colonial villas<\/h2>\n

Tucked down an alley on Duy Tan Street in Ho Chi Minh City sits a French colonial semi-detached villa. As demolition proceeds all around, it's put to use as a caf\u00e9, \"one of the few genuine villas left in this district.\" sgnhA handled the design.<\/p>\n

Hanoi's 3-ton book caf\u00e9 \"Tiny Revolution\"<\/h2>\n

Though not among ArchDaily's top 10, there's one caf\u00e9 worth noting in the context of Hanoi's heritage caf\u00e9s. \"Tiny Revolution Cafe\" on Giai Phong Street in Hoang Mai district is a stunning space that shelves 3 tons of old books across roughly 1,600 square meters.<\/p>\n

Owner Phi Lan Khoa opened it with an investment of VND 1.4 billion (about 8.2 million yen). The old books, gathered over two months, are stacked on enormous shelves surrounding the atrium. The design, with exposed brick walls and a bared ceiling structure, preserves the memory of Hanoi's apartment blocks just as it was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Item<\/th>\nTiny Revolution Cafe<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Address<\/td>\n348 Giai Phong, Hoang Mai, Hanoi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Area<\/td>\nAbout 1,600 m2 (two floors)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Book collection<\/td>\nAbout 3 tons (literature, history, self-help, children's books)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Drink prices<\/td>\n30,000-55,000 VND (about 180-320 yen)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hours<\/td>\n7:00\uff5e22:30<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Capacity<\/td>\nUp to about 500 people<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Reactions on social media and in the press<\/h3>\n