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- KOI Cafe by Farming ArchitectsFrom the outside, this café in Hanoi, Vietnam looks fairly traditional, with tile façade that resembles fish scales and a welcoming heavy wood door. But inside hides a thriving garden centered around a koi pond. <a href="http://www.farmingstudio.it/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Farming Architects</a> designed the space as a small, self-contained <a href="https://inhabitat.com/tag/ecosystem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ecosystem</a> with an indoor waterfall and an <a href="https://inhabitat.com/tag/aquaponics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aquaponics</a> vegetable garden that helps feed customers.1
- KOI Cafe by Farming ArchitectsIts ground floor houses the fish pond filled with colorful koi carp, known as the Japanese national fish.2
- KOI Cafe by Farming ArchitectsThe café is nestled in an existing three-story building in Hanoi to which the architects added a steel frame.3
- KOI Cafe by Farming ArchitectsThe rooftop garden and the pond function as a single ecosystem. Excrements produced by the koi carp are used to create nutrients for the plants growing in the garden on the third floor.4
- KOI Cafe by Farming ArchitectsThe seating area next to it provides direct views of the water. Customers can also walk around the pond along a stepping stone walkway.5
- KOI Cafe by Farming ArchitectsThe architects included an indoor waterfall flowing down into the pond as a reference to an old Chinese legend according to which if a carp could leap over a waterfall on the Yellow River, called the Dragon Gate, it would be transformed into a dragon and fly away. It also helps oxygenate the water for the fish.6
- KOI Cafe by Farming ArchitectsProduce grown here is used in preparing the dishes served in the café and helps purify the water that flows back into the aquarium.7
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- KOI Cafe by Farming ArchitectsFrom the outside, this café in Hanoi, Vietnam looks fairly traditional with a tile façade that resembles fish scales and a heavy wood door. But inside hides a thriving garden centered around a koi pond. <a href="http://www....<br><br><a href='https://inhabitat.com/hanois-koi-cafe-has-a-thriving-ecosystem-complete-with-an-aquaponic-garden/'>READ ARTICLE</a>14