Hay Hay Restaurant and Bar
The building facing the main view to the beach and swimming pool serves as the dining space. This building has ground level capacity for 350 guests. This floor is the main dining hall that provides breakfast, lunch and dinners for both guests staying in the resort and guests who are passing by. There is also a basement that serves as a kitchen and technical floor.
The restaurant was designed with a diverse range of spaces created by the change in floor level and by the bamboo structure of the building. Large groups can enjoy dining together under the bamboo domes, a family or a couple can enjoy their meal at more private areas beside the conic columns, which visually divide the hall into intimate smaller spaces creating semi private areas. The restaurant also provides the outdoor space for those who would like to enjoy their meal under the sky. There are 2 rounded shapes sitting immersed in the pool facing the sea. To provide light during the daytime, there are glass skylights on top of each dome in the centre of the building that leads natural light into the dining space.
The main structure of the restaurant is designed by bamboo. The rectangular plan of the restaurant is composed of 29 conic shaped bamboo columns and 2 bamboo domes. All of the columns are connected by the pitched roof consisting of the straight bamboos in the grid system. We designed the glass facade supported by concrete columns inside to obtain a space that can be fully closed for airconditioning and yet still be connected with its surrounding exterior landscape. The bamboo used in this resort were all naturally treated in situ. The process of treating the bamboo consists of bending by fire, soaking in water and fumigation. This procedure took 4 months to achieve a better quality of bamboo.
The conic columns consist of inner straight bamboo columns, locally called “Luong”, and an outer surface created by bended bamboos, locally called “Tam Vong”. In order to get the most benefits from each type of bamboo, the design followed the features of each type. To overcome big spans, the “Luong” bamboo is more suitable as the poles can reach lengths of up to 8m and their diameters can reach up to 100 mm. For bending, the “Tam Vong” bamboo is a perfect choice, the diameter is smaller but the skin is thicker therefore the poles are very flexible to bend.
The bar
In front of the Hay Hay Restaurant there is a tower-like building floating on the water surface. This building serves as a bar and it is connected directly with the restaurant. This small scale structure attracts attention thanks to its unusual organic shape which adds dynamic to the roof landscape of the restaurant. In technical terms, it is a hyperboloid shell.
The structure looks very dynamic with its curves but the geometry is very simple. The surface is like a cylinder which is rotated in 2 directions. To create this twisted surface, only straight lines are needed therefore there are only straight bamboos applied. For the unique feature of this hyperboloid, the design is using only “Luong” bamboo which is very suitable thanks to its strength and length, that can reach up to 8m, to support the 8.5m tall building.
The bar structure gives the guests sitting inside a unique interior view giving a joyful atmosphere as it floats on water. It is also a buffer zone between the restaurant and the beach. For guests passing around the water surface, it gives an impressive mirroring view of the tower.
