Texas firm Magic Architecture has covered this Vietnamese restaurant with white corrugated metal to make it stand out from the "busy and graphic mess" of its location in Austin.
The local practice designed Sip Pho eatery for a first-generation Vietnamese family on a plot that was formerly home to a barbecue restaurant. It is located on 29th Street in the Texas city near a ballroom and a taco shack.

While the other buildings are decorated in bright colours and graphics, the restaurant has a bold and simple white exterior.
"Located north of the University of Texas, the building's quiet composition is a reaction to the busy and graphic mess of the surrounding landscape," said Magic Architecture.

White off-the-shelf cladding covers two volumes that form Sip Pho, described by Magic Architecture as a gable and a box. The restaurant is housed inside the gabled volume, while the kitchen is located inside the box. The gabled roof has deep overhangs to help with rain management and also shade windows from strong sunlight.

Magic Architecture created long glazing at the front of the restaurant by inserting windows in between exposed Douglas fir wood studs. Doors made from matching woodwork flank either side.

Matching windows also run on the opposing walls, which, in addition to a series of north-facing skylights, bring natural light into the dining portion of the restaurant.

The open-plan space features white-painted steel and drywall that matches the exterior...