Architect Can Vu Bui’s Few Days in Paris Filled With Brutalist-Style Buildings and Asian Eateries

Welcome to Design Detours, a series where creative people whose tastes we trust share their well-curated, design-minded travel itineraries.

As a first generation Canadian whose parents were refugees from Vietnam, architect Can Vu Bui has an affinity for Asian neighborhoods in Western cities. "They have always been a fascinating city phenomenon to me," says the principal at Office of Things (a New York-, Chicago-, and Charlottesville-based studio whose work we love). In 2011, Vu Bui spent a summer in Paris working on a research project about Les Grands Projets—an architectural program implemented by former French president François Mitterrand to provide modern monuments in Paris—as part of his studies at Yale. Vu Bui examined the intersection of modern housing and the large migration of diasporas to France; it was how he got to know Les Olympiades, a residential district in the 13th arrondissement on the right bank, known as a hub of Chinese and Vietnamese diasporas.

Not only was Vu Bui drawn to the area’s Brutalist-style buildings—a series of towers clad in staggered, corrugated-concrete panels filled with housing and commercial malls with local shops and bars—he also felt a personal connection to the community, too. "On a personal note, [I wanted] to process the different Vietnamese diasporas around the world," he says. "Nearly every time I've been back to Paris I stop there."

Vu Bui’s most recent return to Les Olympiades was in 2022, when he, his partner, Lane (also principal at Office of Things’ New York office), and their young child tagged on a few extra days in Paris after attending a friend’s wedding in Toulouse. Here, Vu Bui shares some of his favorite things to do in the area, including eating pho and people-watching at a French Vietnamese bistro and taking a ceramics class at a converted studio.

Day 1: Walk through Les Olympiades and eat pho at a local institution

We decided to stay at the vacant apartment of a friend who is doing a PhD in Brussels. We went to Phở Banh Cuon 14m, a Vietnamese institution on their block, before we headed out for the day—not only because we have a two-year-old, but also because pho is traditionally served for breakfast or lunch. The pho stock is classic, complex, and rich and smells of anise, clove, and cinnamon, with charred gingers and onions. The restaurant has a prominent corner location with outdoor seating that stretches the street and is covered by a long, green awning. I love it there because it’s both very Vietnamese and French and is great for people-watching. The furniture is not posh; there are practical, wood-topped painted metal stools with no backs, like you might find at a traditional French bistro on the street. The staff were friendly and spoke a mix of French and Vietnamese.

Day 2: View art at an architectural landmark and feast on a French- and Chinese-inspired meal

On the border of the 13th and 14th districts is the Fondation Cartier, a marvelous glass building by French architect Jean Nouvel with contemporary art exhibitions. From the street, it appears as a series of shimmering glass layers, like a jewel box nested inside a verdant garden that spills onto the street. Nouvel did a great trick here: the glass walls reflect and mirror the trees and sky, further obscuring the building enclosure. It feels like you’re walking into a forest. The exhibitions give space to challenging topics by well-known, international artists. We saw a show by Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori, an Aboriginal artist whose large canvas paintings—very bold, colorful, and evocative—were mesmerizing. The canvases were set against the steel-and-glass walls of the building, which showed the forested nature.

For dinner, we headed to L’Hommage (French for ‘tribute’), a French-Chinese restaurant that’s an homage to the owner’s roots as a chef in China. If you didn’t look out for the discreet, glass facade on Avenue de Choisy, you’d probably miss it among the traditional Asian restaurants and markets, also with simple glass exteriors and inconspicuous signs. There’s a diverse mix of young adults, but also an older Asian clientele in their 40 and 50s who perhaps grew up in the neighborhood. The menu changes somewhat frequently, but our most memorable dishes were roasted cauliflower on a bed of nori, and for dessert, a creamed orange blossom with dates and caramel foam—high on technique. The interior is modern and refined with a slightly Nordic aesthetic. It’s an airy, white space with burgundy booths; varying textures of woods, leathers, and polished concrete tables; and accents of deep red and blue. Original iron columns, which are stripped raw, divide the space and serve as a reminder of its original Parisian roots.

Day 3: Tour other Brutalist-style housing complexes and a ceramics studio in Ivry-Sur-Seine