issue 49 - AsiaLIFE Magazine

A Danish architect and leader in interior design is bringing a cool Scandinavianchic to some of Vietnam’s most stylish developments. By Brett Davis.It is important that the spacesin which we work, live andplay are well designed. Theyare, after all, where we spendthe majority of our lives. Withincreasingly sophisticateddevelopments continuing tospring up the length of Vietnam,incorporating a modern,international design aesthetic isbecoming more important.One of the leading exponentsof this design field hereis Fong-Chan Zeuthen and herfirm Kaze. Raised in Denmark,Zeuthen received her master’sdegree in architecture from theAcademy-Aarhus School ofArchitecture in Copenhagen.She has been cutting her teethin interior design in Vietnam forthe best part of the last decade,working with outfits such asDWP, and Ong and Ong, beforestriking out on her own in 2010.The Kaze team now numbermore than 20 people and occupya sleek former house in a leafystreet in District 3.Working across areas as diverseas residential, office, retail,resorts, restaurants and bars,some of the projects alreadyunder the firm’s belt includeapartments and penthousesin the Water Mark and CityGarden developments, the NovaLand offices in District 7 and theMia Resort at Cam Ranh Bay.The firm was also behind thestunning facelift given to theSailing Club in Nha Trang.Not surprisingly, given sheis from Denmark, Zeuthensays her designs are stronglyinfluenced by Scandinavianand European traditions. Morespecifically, she says it is anunderstanding of proportionand space.“Understanding space,understanding how to createspaces where people can sit,work, feel comfortable … wecreate that, we are very good atit,” Zeuthen says. Although, sheadds that not all clients sharethat sense of being respectful ofspace and it can make her jobmore challenging.“The aesthetic is definitelysomething that is simple andfunctional. But it does have theAsian influence, the colours, thevibrancy.” She also explains thata sense of continuity throughouta project is very important, thatthere must be a common threadlinking the different spaces.“I want a building to speakone language, not 10,” she says.“You sometimes go into a spaceand each single wall you say,‘Oh looks pretty cool’, but it’sall different. There are no connections,there is not a holisticpicture.”Knowing the materials atyour disposal and the limitationsof what can be achievedare two factors that most influencea design project. Zeuthensays the stone and timbre thatis available in Vietnam is variedMIA Nha Trang Resort & Spa44 asialife HCMC