Archello Awards 2026 · Enter your projects before 30 September 2026
Archello Awards 2026 · Enter your projects before 30 September 2026
A1208PP
Minh Quang Pham

Yin and Yang apartment

Before renovation, this was an old and rundown apartment with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, one living room, and a cramped, dark kitchen.

photo_credit Minh Quang Pham
Minh Quang Pham
photo_credit Minh Quang Pham
Minh Quang Pham
photo_credit Minh Quang Pham
Minh Quang Pham
photo_credit Minh Quang Pham
Minh Quang Pham

The new owner wants a spacious, comfortable, cozy living space, and only needs one bedroom, a home office and a formal arrangement for the altar. Normally, apartments in Vietnam do not have private worship spaces, while the religious needs of families always require a sacred space to perform worship rituals.

photo_credit Minh Quang Pham
Minh Quang Pham
photo_credit Minh Quang Pham
Minh Quang Pham

Design idea - (according to Eastern philosophy, the principle of Yin and Yang is that all things exist as inseparable and contradictory opposites.) Space is divided into two parts, Yin and Yang. The main spaces, which are both high and spacious with direct access to sunlight, such as the bedroom, kitchen, dining room, living room, and home office, represents Yang: freedom and spaciousness.

photo_credit Minh Quang Pham
Minh Quang Pham
photo_credit Minh Quang Pham
Minh Quang Pham
photo_credit Minh Quang Pham
Minh Quang Pham

The space from the entrance, through the altar room, is mixed together in the darkness of dark brown wood, with the only highlight being the dim yellow light in the shape of a full moon in the center, which represent Yin: quiet and discreet. Separating the two dark and light spaces are a movable, striped glass wall system that blocks the direct view into the worship room or from the entrance into the apartment. The entire area of the additional spaces in the apartment was also compressed along this horizontal line, creating a more coherent and clear spatial layout.

photo_credit Minh Quang Pham
Minh Quang Pham
photo_credit Minh Quang Pham
Minh Quang Pham
photo_credit Minh Quang Pham
Minh Quang Pham

Creating contrasting designs intentionally emphasizes pairs of opposing categories, such as, light - darkness, heavy - light, wide - narrow, high - low, open - closed... so that people can feel the balance of yin and yang in living space.

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