Kiln

Da Lat / Ho Chi Minh City / since 2011

Houses built from earth, timber and the climate they stand in.

An architecture studio in Da Lat and Ho Chi Minh City. We design homes and public buildings with materials from within 300 km of the site.

Start a project
We still begin every job the same way: a morning on the land with a tape, a compass and the owner. The drawings come later.
Hà Minh Khôi, principal architect
Two board-formed concrete volumes among tall pines in morning mist, the upper one turned and cantilevered, a lit glass wall on the ground floor and cast stepping pads leading up the slope.

Featured / 2024

Pine Forest House

Two concrete volumes set askew so that all 31 pines on a steep site could stay.

Read the project
47 buildings handed over38,640 m² of floor15 years in Da Lat31 pines kept on one steep site

Selected work

05 projects / 2021-2025

Looking down a low parabolic brick vault towards the glazed library door, midday sun falling through the arched openings onto the terracotta floor, pine hills outside.

Civic / 2022

Ta Nung Library

Ta Nung Commune, Da Lat / 386 m²

Looking up a five-storey light well in a narrow Saigon house: a dark steel spiral stair winds round its column towards a breeze-block roof screen, hard sun throwing the block pattern onto white lime walls, plants on every landing.

House / 2025

Da Kao Tube House

Tan Dinh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City / 168 m²

4 5006 800
A-301 / 1:200Long section through the walk, Ta Nung Library

Everything from within 300 km

  • Close-up of red fired clay brick in lime mortar, raking light picking out the pitted faces.

    Fired clay brick

    Mang Thit, Vinh Long

    220 x 105 x 55 mm

  • Close-up of planed pine boards with tight grain and small dark knots.

    Highland pine

    Lac Duong, Lam Dong

    Kiln-dried to 12%

  • Close-up of grey concrete carrying the grain of the pine boards it was cast against.

    Board-formed concrete

    Pine plank formwork

    Grade 300, unrendered

  • Close-up of warm off-white lime render with trowel marks and fine sand.

    Lime render

    Slaked lime, aged 6 months

    Breathable, never painted

A long hall with a steep dark roof and walls of close vertical pine louvres, seen across a rammed earth yard in late afternoon, the sun low behind it and warm light glowing through the slats, pine hills beyond.

Civic / 2021

Lac Duong Community Hall

Lac Duong, Lam Dong / 540 m²

An apartment with one long wall of pale oak cabinet doors and an open desk niche, rolled drawings on an oak table, earth-tinted lime walls and soft window light from the left.

Interior / 2023

Oak Apartment

Thao Dien, Ho Chi Minh City / 126 m²

Workbench in the Kiln model room: a white card model of the Pine Forest House on stacked kraft contours with cork-topped pins for pines, a row of card vault ribs and a steep-roofed hall, offcuts and a pencil on a green cutting mat, a roll of tracing paper behind.

W-001

The model room

Every scheme goes through at least three 1:50 card models before a technical drawing. Owners come to the studio to pick them up, turn them round and argue with them.

Drawing comes before concrete.

Drawing comes before concrete. 15-27 weeks

of survey, models and drawings before anyone pours a footing. The line below is to scale.

  1. 2-3 weeks

    01

    Survey

    Measure the site, track the sun and monsoon winds, tag the trees we keep.

  2. 4-6 weeks

    02

    Scheme

    Two plan options, and a card model of each to choose between.

  3. 3-8 weeks

    03

    Permit

    Permit drawings and meetings with the ward office.

  4. 6-10 weeks

    04

    Construction set

    Details, bill of quantities, choosing the builders.

  5. Until handover

    05

    Site

    A site visit every week and sign-off on each package of work.

Said about the work

2025The Ta Nung Library took first prize at the Highland Civic Building Award.

2024Mat Bang gave the Pine Forest House twelve pages in issue 38.

2023Our 1:20 vault model stood in the Brick & Vault exhibition in Hanoi, and was dropped once on the way back.

Tell us about the land.

We reply within 3 working days. The first meeting at the studio is free.

Da Lat

27 Hoa Hong, Xuan Huong Ward, Lam Dong

0263 3824 517

Ho Chi Minh City

Floor 3, 62 Tran Quang Khai, Tan Dinh Ward

028 3910 6243
[email protected]

A rough guess is fine.

Where it is, how many people will use it, a rough budget.