#9 Salvaged Ring Cafe

Nha Trang City, Vietnam

Situated alongside a highway, this cafe is located in the countryside of Nha Trang, Vietnam.

What do we love about it? The shop belongs to a carpenter who salvaged scrap wood from his previous projects to build this impressive structure.

The first view most people get of the café is its unusual curved thatched roof that extends from the highway down to the riverbank. That single roof connects two different levels into one and softens the rigid structure supporting below.

Designed by a21 studio, guests are led by an exotic route from the exterior to the interior, around a courtyard created by the ring-shaped roof - a feature that, along with the salvaged wood, gives the cafe its name.

The building was shortlisted for the 2014 Wood Excellence Awards, as part of the World Architecture Awards.

(Photos: a21 studio)