This project is a house of a young couple built with the idea for their little daughter, Thao Tien. The house is set in a plot with a size of 6x12 meters and has two open front and back sides. The project started when Thao Tien's parents came to the design team and wanted to build a new home, where children's laughter and space to bond family feelings.
T-architects came up with a concept of the house’s exterior first, which needed a distinct and unique highlight. Meanwhile, Thao Tien’s parents said that privacy was the top important requirement for the house, but on the contrary, it must be full of natural light and ventilation. We proposed breeze cement blocks to apply to an open and close facade. “There is a star fruit tree in your neighbor's house, which is in the front of the house. We would like to take advantage of its shady and green foliage. Imagine that you can enjoy these trembling leaves in the breeze while staying inside through the house facade” – The design team explained.
Furthermore, our idea brought natural light as a multi-color tool to shape the exterior of the house and enhance the spatial experience for users. Colorful glass blocks refract the sunlight and transmit it to the inside of the house during the day while reflecting the light from the indoor lights to the outside at night. As the result, the main façade has been covered by 190x190 millimeter square breeze tiles combined with glass color blocks. From a distance, the entire exterior of the house is like a layer of water bubbles that are refracting the light, this feature has created an attractive cladding.
Because it is a four-story house, the owner was very concerned about its internal circulation of it. “How we could have more space for family activities?” Thao Tien’s parents asked. We presented the first-floor plan with a garage and storerooms, the living space has been moved to the upper floors. However, the house has two main doors separately, while one leads up to the second floor, the other has been used for the car parking entrance. On the 2nd floor, the design has taken advantage of the front and back house’s sides – one to the east, and the other to the west.
The skylight permeates the open-plan kitchen, living, and dining spaces that comprise the second floor with an abundance of natural light in the daytime. We tried to create a house where the family can strengthen family bonds, and where the family can be integrated with the external environment through windows. A small area - below the stairs - is made full use to be Thao Tien’s space. "Even when preparing meals, we can talk and watch Thao Tien play without affecting her activities," her mother shared. The spatial connectivity continues to be applied to the 3rd floor, where the private bedrooms of the family members are located.
The architects describe: “The two bedrooms with separate doors are designed next to each other, but we proposed to remove a wall in the middle. Those are integrated into one now, and readily separated into two later.” At the back side of the house, an atrium loggia has been made for the 3rd and 4th floors. Our idea is to bring all internal spaces together, an atrium leaves unobstructed views horizontally and vertically. Thao Tien’s parents plant more trees at the loggia, turning that area into a green spot alternating between the bedroom and bathroom spaces.
