DOJO Saigon

DOJO Saigon
© Hiroyuki Oki

DOJO SAIGON

T3 ARCHITECTS

CATEGORY
SPORTS ARCHITECTURE, SPORTS INTERIORS

LOCATION
HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM

ARCHITECTS
T3 ARCHITECTS

AREA
80 m²

YEAR
2020

PHOTOGRAPHS
Hiroyuki Oki

MANUFACTURERS
AutoDesk, An Cuong, Daikin, Cemboard, EBLOCK, Panasonic, Trimble Navigation, Viet Nhat Glass, Xingfa

Lead Architects
Charles Gallavardin, Tereza Gallavardin, Guillermo Medina Banderas

CONTRACTOR
Harmonie

MEP
Harmonie

LIGHTING DESIGN
Kobi Lighting Studio

ARCHITECT
Hai Ta Quang

STRUCTURE ENGINEERS
Harmonie

T3 Architects just designed the first Dojo in Saigon (Vietnam). The project started with a good mix of cultures: " Dojo " is the Japanese name of the building which means that the building will be built with a certain of Japanese traditional rules for the right practice of Judo.

DOJO Saigon
© Hiroyuki Oki
DOJO Saigon
© Hiroyuki Oki

Then, the Dojo is located in the garden of an old French style Villa, and all this together in the dynamic city of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.

Designed and built with the main sustainable principles in mind from the beginning, T3 placed the Dojo correctly on the garden using the existing Villa to be protected and right-oriented to avoid the main heavy rains/winds and designing the openings accordingly.

DOJO Saigon
© Hiroyuki Oki
DOJO Saigon
© Hiroyuki Oki

As the existing Villa will be rented as part of the Dojo office and as a co-working space for Judo practitioners T3 decided to do the main circulation through the existing building where a new changing room is placed.

Moreover, we decided to relocate the main entrance creating a new gate in the alley next to the plot avoiding the access from an existing dangerous road junction.

DOJO Saigon
© Hiroyuki Oki
DOJO Saigon
© Hiroyuki Oki

In addition to this, as first intentions, T3 took care to place the Dojo to keep all the old existing trees creating three different gardens around the plot, one at the entrance for welcoming as a hall, one in the back with more privacy and where parents can wait for the kids while the training is happening, and another one for work-out, all of them with enough natural soil to allow rainwater to go through avoiding the common flooding in this area of the city.

As the building is air-conditioned, the Dojo is built with full insulation in its walls, double glazing in all the openings and rice husk insulation for the roof, which is an ecological and affordable material.

DOJO Saigon
© Hiroyuki Oki
DOJO Saigon
© Hiroyuki Oki

Thanks to all of this, the building has high-level energy efficient providing a low-energy consumption to the clients.

For the last but not least, taking in consideration the dynamic and changeable times we all live, the project has been designed to be dismountable (main structure, flooring, walls, tatami...) to provide the client with the option to move the whole building to another plot in case it is needed.

DOJO Saigon
© Hiroyuki Oki
DOJO Saigon
© Hiroyuki Oki

Putting together the sustainable principles comments above, the beauty of the practice of Judo, and the creative and functional design makes finally a meaningful project with a very competitive budget.


DOJO Saigon
© Hiroyuki Oki
DOJO Saigon
© Hiroyuki Oki
DOJO Saigon
© Hiroyuki Oki
DOJO Saigon
© Hiroyuki Oki
DOJO Saigon
© Hiroyuki Oki
DOJO Saigon
© Hiroyuki Oki
DOJO Saigon
© Hiroyuki Oki
DOJO Saigon
© Hiroyuki Oki
DOJO Saigon
© Hiroyuki Oki
DOJO Saigon
© Hiroyuki Oki


DOJO Saigon
Roof Floor Plan
DOJO Saigon
Ground Floor Plan


DOJO Saigon
Cross Section
DOJO Saigon
Longitudinal Section


DOJO Saigon
Diagram 01
DOJO Saigon
Diagram 02
DOJO Saigon
Diagram 03
DOJO Saigon
Diagram 04


DOJO Saigon
East Elevation
DOJO Saigon
South Elevation from Street
DOJO Saigon
West Elevation
DOJO Saigon
North Elevation
DOJO Saigon
South Elevation