Jan
7
2011

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Hằng Nga Hotel: Da Lat's Crazy House

by Going Slowly

Hằng Nga guest-house, more affectionately known as Da Lat's "Crazy House" is a totally bizarro hotel designed by the Vietnamese architect Dang Viet Nga. She built it after receiving her PhD from the University of Moscow, and being heavily influence by Spanish architect, Antoni Gaudi.

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The fantastical place is definitely worth a visit, as the chance to explore the many nooks and crannies is well worth the one dollar price of admission. Getting lost climbing in the maze of narrow, winding staircases throughout the ever-expanding complex feels a bit like being in Alice in Wonderland!

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While we would never want to actually live in the Crazy House, the unconventional architecture here is inspiring a lot of thinking about our future home. The smooth plaster surfaces remind us of the moldability of cob, and this window over one of the beds seems like a cool idea.

Crazy House, Da Lat, Vietnam

It's also amazing what people can do with their own two hands, without professional skills but with a passion to create something out of the right-angle paradigm four square walls.

Eight local workers between 20 and 60 transform her blueprints—paintings not architectural plans, into her work of art. None of the workers are professionals, but all of them are enthusiastic and gifted craftsmen.

Everything is sculpted by hand, even the furniture, because it has to fit into the nooks of the rooms without a strait line.

Hang Nga Guesthouse & Art Gallery