'Peace House' is a private residence situated on a 4-meter wide, 18-meter long plot of land in a densely populated residential area in eastern Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The house faces northwest, with the other sides adjacent to neighboring properties.
The homeowner desired a tranquil and private retreat for their family, ensuring peace, quiet, and ventilation. The design focused on minimalism, eliminating unnecessary details.
Based on the homeowner's needs, the living room and kitchen are separated by a hallway and a small bedroom. The staircase is also positioned at the rear to ensure privacy while simultaneously accommodating the family's living and cooking needs, ensuring the house functions in accordance with their daily routines.
The family living space is moved to the second floor, where there is a higher level of tranquility and privacy, as well as optimal ventilation and lighting throughout the day. The common living space can be used as a workspace, children's play area, study space, reading area, or exercise area, depending on the needs of each family member. The living space can connect to the other spaces.
'Light' will be the element connecting the layers of space along both the vertical and horizontal axes.
Based on this idea, and given the condition that only light can be obtained from above for the interior spaces, the atrium and stairwell core are offset from each other along the path of light entering the building, allowing sunlight to penetrate through the layers of space from top to bottom. A ray of light penetrating through the glass roof can go directly to the ground floor, helping to link the spaces.
The central atrium of the building is positioned to extend along the East-West axis, allowing for year-round natural light. The glass roof above is elevated 200mm above the concrete roof by using tempered glass frames to allow heat to escape from below spaces, ensuring continuous air circulation within the building.
Given the bustling urban setting and its proximity to the street, the building's facade is enclosed by louvered doors with slats angled at 45 degrees to limit visibility. These doors can be opened and closed flexibly, increasing privacy while also providing connect to the outside when needed. Combined with the existing avocado trees in front, they create a buffer against heat from the west. Interior furnishings are cleverly selected and integrated into the walls, creating a minimalist feel in terms of lines and colors for the overall structure.
Today, a home is not just a place to fulfill basic needs for shelter, but also a reflection of the inner world of the homeowner and family members, a place where they can find connection with each other, as well as with the building itself.
