Header: Trieu Chien
Dao Mau Museum is a venue commissioned by artist Xuan Hinh devoted to the homonymous folk religion centred on Mother goddesses. Inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list in 2016, the religion celebrates different female deities (Mau), associated with elements such as water, sky, and forests.
Ancient brick façade among the mossy orchard forest
Situated in the village of Hien Nihn at the Hanoi outskirts, the museum is built from ancient tiles and antique bricks sourced from residences across Vietnam. Thousands of clay tiles taken from abandoned houses were used to clad the façade of the museum, that’s thoughtfuly integrated within the 50-year-old forest, blurring the boundary between nature and manmade structures.
Original columns and gates are integrated seemingly into the design. The artist’s house is also present in the space surrounded by new galleries with artefacts related to Dao Mau. The library inside showcases and preserves books on traditional Vietnamese arts and numerous folk art paintings.
Dao Mau Museum Lighting Design by Croled
Light serves as a storytelling tool that guides the visitors into the museum. Upon entering the venue, the visitors are guided not by signs but by light itself. The lighting design evokes the feeling of rural Vietnamese villages hidden in the shadows of old trees. The light remains subtle, evoking the vitality of over five million reclaimed roof tiles.
Every ray of light is intentional, prompting a deep feeling of respect and admiration. Unlike in other museums, light is used not to illuminate the artefacts, but rather to preserve and highlight the materials that carry traces of those who lived before us.
Natural light enters through the open architectural style, benefiting from natural light. At night, the venue takes on a mystical character illuminated with warm, golden beams. The juxtaposition of soft golden light against the mossy ancient walls evokes a sacred atmosphere inside the museum. A lychee garden, which surrounds the three sacred towers, connects the visitors with the earth and sky.
Landscape lighting design
The thoughtful use of landscape lighting evokes emotions. It turns the tower into a focal point by leading the gaze toward it, while surrounding trees rest in shadow. The creation of depth defines distance and the pathway to the museum. Deprived of fences and orientation signs, lighting is the only guide for visitors. A seamless transition is achieved through dimming, where glazing reveals texture and perception transforms every beam into a brushstroke. The light path connects trees, walls and memory into a single cohesive structure.
The Dao Mau Museum maintains the local Vietnamese heritage through advanced, contemporary lighting design. At Dao Mau Museum, light is more than illumination. It provides the space with rhythm, evokes memory, and shapes the materiality of the place, silently conveying old Vietnamese folk stories and religious rituals. The outstanding light design of the venue, by Croled Lighting JSC, received the LIT Lighting Design Award in the Heritage Lighting Design category.
