From a looks perspective, most of the buildings here in Da Nang are just boring as hell. Everything, every single business is just a cement rectangle of some sort to maximize the use of space. There is almost no effort put into making a building look even remotely unique and this creates a rather boring cement-jungle look for the entire city.
Recently they broke ground near my apartment and I just presumed as I saw the rebar being offloaded and the piles of sand and stone being dropped off that this was going to be yet another boring rectangle business of some sort but here we are a few months later and instead of just doing the usual, these people have made one of the only non-religious pieces of architecture anywhere in this city.
I suppose I can understand why it is that people build rectangles because it does maximize the use of space but here's the thing: If nobody is going to go to your establishment, which is usually the case, then why bother with having maximum amounts of seats? It doesn't make any sense! This place will no doubt be very popular if for no other reason than because of the fact that it is something very different.
I don't have any idea what sort of business it is going to be but I am looking forward to it opening. I hope it is wildly successful and perhaps, just maybe, this will inspire other potential business owners to follow suit and not just make the same old crap that everyone else is already doing.
One thing that is particularly impressive is the transplanted coconut trees as well as the really high up shades that have built to keep it cooler in the daytime and to keep the rain mostly off of the people when the rain does come.
While I am sure they are popular elsewhere, I have never seen these retractable rain guards used as widely as they are here in Da Nang. It seems as though almost every business has them. By putting them up so high they could end up with a bit of a problem though because they are too far to protect people from the sun when it is at an angle and the rain doesn't always fall straight down here. I sincerely hope that the rope that draws these things back and forth doesn't snap because if it does, it's not like anyone has a ladder that tall to just jump up there and sort it out.
Hopefully it will be a success because the architecture here is just wildly boring. I'm not a super worldly person but this looks like it could end up being a Spanish or Greek sort of establishment. Both of these would be very welcome to the neighborhood.