T3 Architects

The Cocoa Project Café

The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki
The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki

THE COCOA PROJECT CAFÉ

T3 Architects

ARCHITECTS
T3 Architects

LANDSCAPE DESIGN
T3 Architects, Anthony Desgre

ARCHITECT
Hai Ta Quang

MANUFACTURERS
Hafele, Toto, Jati Mosaic, Plastic People, Secoin, Vickini, Vietceramics

STRUCTURE CONSULTANT
Pi Architects

LEAD ARCHITECTS
Charles Gallavardin, Tereza Gallavardin, Rafael Lira, Guillermo Banderas

MAIN CONTRACTROR
Pi Architects

MEP
Pi Architects

LIGHTING DESIGN
Baeteman & Ta Design Studio

INTERIOR DESIGNER
Kieu Chinh Nguyen

SCENOGRAPHY
Cent Degres Vietnam, Patrick Wong Mui

PHOTOGRAPHS
Hiroyuki Oki

AREA
460 M²

YEAR
2022

LOCATION
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

CATEGORY
Coffee Shop

The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki

Text description provided by architect.

T3 Architects designed the first “The Cocoa Project” in Saigon, a friendly and airy space bringing together sustainable architecture and sustainably sourced cacao trace chocolate.

The main design intention of T3 Team was to recover the existing modernist Villa from the 50s and give it a second life dedicated to the Cocoa & Pastry. A place for Vietnamese, to reconnect with their heritage and to realize the quality of their cocoa produced in the Mekong Delta.

The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki
The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki

This elegant villa was totally invisible when we started the design, as decades of ugly industrial finishing materials were covering all walls, ceilings, and facades.

The place was totally dark and sad… T3 decided to remove a part of the roof and break some concrete slabs to create a tropical garden, to bring natural light to all the buildings, and highlight the architectural elements typical of this period.

The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki
The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki

It is more of an “archeological” mission than an architecture and interior design mission. The beauty was there.

T3 and the Cocoa Project Team and all partners involved in the project gave all their effort to rediscover and create a peaceful place in the heart of Saigon.

The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki
The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki

When T3 Team first visited the place, we saw a nice staircase in the terrazzo, as well as some cornices on the ceiling, both typical of the modernist period.

We proceeded step by step, removing layer after layer, and discovering old handrails, vertical concrete louvers, and old layers of lime paint. And we decided to preserve all to suggest the past and the history of Saigon.

The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki
The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki

T3 did the choice to preserve a part of the existing street facade, after removing all finishing, to create a kind of acoustic protection and offer a quiet garden for the coffee shop, insulated from the street’s noise.

The tropical garden was inspired by the plantations of the farmers of the Mekong Delta. We specified some typical palm trees from South Vietnam as well as a very nice and productive Cocoa Tree, as a symbol.

The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki
The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki

Some additional plants will cover the walls soon and bring freshness, without requiring any important maintenance; as T3 always considers reducing water consumption.

More generally, T3 intention was to make this project as sustainable as possible, first by preserving the main structure of the existing buildings (always better than demolishing and rebuilding).

The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki
The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki

Then, we have reduced the number of new materials as much as possible. All of them are sourced and produced in Vietnam, to avoid unnecessary transportation costs and pollution.

Finally, T3 specified natural or low carbon materials as much as possible to ensure proper air quality (zero chemical):

The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki
The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki

non-cooked local cement tiles, solid wood for all furniture, knowing that a large part is an antique furniture, lime painting, etc.

The bar counter and mirror frames have been tailor-made by T3, using materials composed of recycled tetra packs & plastic produced by our friends from Plastic People.

The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki
The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki

The Cocoa Project is really a manifesto of the Vietnamese Heritage regeneration, following a happy & creative frugal approach.


The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki
The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki
The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki


The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki
The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki
The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki
The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki
The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki
The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki
The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki
The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki
The Cocoa Project Café
© Hiroyuki Oki


The Cocoa Project Café
Plan - Ground Floor
The Cocoa Project Café
Plan - First Floor


The Cocoa Project Café
Transversal Section
The Cocoa Project Café
Diagrams
The Cocoa Project Café
Cross Section

T3 Architects
T3 Architects
Family Garden, 28 Thao Dien Street, Thao Dien, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam