Area 75 Art & Auction

Hanoi, Vietnam

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Border House

Area 75 Art & Auction

Hanoi, Vietnam

Firm

WORKLOUNGE 03- VIETNAM

Type

Commercial › Office
Cultural › Gallery Cultural Center

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2025

SIZE

0 sqft - 1000 sqft

BUDGET

Undisclosed

Context and Concept
Located in the center of Hanoi's Old Quarter, the building at 75 Hang Bo was formerly the Le Cuong Printing House (Imprimerie Lê Cường) – a gathering place for artists and elite intellectuals in the 1930s. It was later partially converted into the office of the Fine Arts and Cultural Products Joint Stock Company (Công ty Cổ phần Mỹ thuật và Vật phẩm Văn hóa).
Continuing this legacy of disseminating knowledge, in 2023, the Company transformed its owned space into a contemporary art center. The facility serves creative activities, community connection, and functions as a combined workspace (Area 75 - Art & Auction Center).
Furthermore, within the spatial memory of Hanoi's Old Quarter in general, public newspaper reading stands, public water taps, or communal wells have existed or are existing as "Islands" of information and social connection. These spaces require people to walk to them and be physically present to acquire and bring back value. The Area 75 Art Center is similarly defined as a cultural "Island" within the Old Quarter, promoting the spread of art to the community through both popular cultural products and contemporary, academic art events.

Spatial Organization
To access this cultural "Island", the design follows the existing conditions of the building, establishing a pedestrian journey through the narrow (about 1m) and long (nearly 60m) "ngõ" typology typical of the Old Quarter. Here, the most vibrant "material" is the daily life of the Old Quarter itself. The diverse intertwining of a coffee shop, handicraft stalls, music record displays, to the remaining inner courtyards and the everyday routines of residents... are all compressed within the spatial frame of the original printing house and its subsequent renovation traces. The linear pathway is not merely for circulation, but also reveals the historical layers and the complexity of the current urban ecology.
The pedestrian journey ends and suddenly opens up into a square, 3-story “White Box” (10m x 10m). This volume is utilized as a flexible multi-purpose space (ballroom), contrasting sharply with the preceding narrow pathway. The core of the structure is an atrium that runs continuously from the roof down to the main exhibition space on the first floor. This solution enhances spatial value and natural lighting for a core Old Quarter space that is often considered cramped and dimly lit.
This volume operates at 100% site coverage. The interior space extends fully to the property lines, allowing the building to engage directly with the external physical context. Through intentionally framed windows, the distance to the city is narrowed. From the inside, viewers can observe crumbling plaster, tree roots, or the daily rhythm of neighboring residents at an appropriate distance. The surrounding context has become a permanent exhibition space within the artwork.

Current Operation
Currently, artistic and creative activities here are continuously taking place, spreading art and culture to the community. The Area 75 Art Center maintains its role as an "Island" – a destination where people seek out and experience space through physical dimensions and memory, thereby acquiring spiritual values.