To incorporate that sense of bonding with the beyond, Duy and his team at Duy Le Architects decided to use lots of glass and mirrors to create duplicating illusions throughout the space.

“At some specific angles, an infinite view can be seen within the house,” he says. “Some details in the house are only half-designed and once reflected by the mirror, they will reveal the complete pattern.”

The top floor hosts a Catholic altar for linkage with ancestors, and an extra bedroom upstairs further hints at the Coco theme with a solitary guitar positioned in the corner.

exterior

The entire exterior facade is composed of curved glass bricks in a nod to the eternal waves of the ubiquitous waterways intersecting the Sóc Trăng region. They also provide an open and airy feel, allowing the indoor spaces to flow seamlessly into outdoors.

The residents also wanted to be able to run their medical business out of the house, and enjoy their hobbies of gardening and koi fish ponds. The architect maximized the small space (only 15 feet wide) by removing as many walls as possible and creating clear sightlines across both levels.

The bottom floor includes a parking area, a clinic work space, the primary bedroom, bathroom, and an open concept kitchen and living area. The kitchen island was designed to expand between six and 18 seats, according to the daily family or business needs of the residents. The lounge area in this space feels like a tropical getaway, with a giant hammock opposite the island and seating inside a boat floating in a koi pond.

To accommodate the clients’ passion for gardening, the Duy Le team created five separate gardens spanning both floors of the Coco House, with marbled pebble skylights and glass block walls providing abundant natural light for both the vegetation and koi fish.

In fact, the architects created an entire microclimate for the home by strategically placing vented glass blocks in the walls. “The design utilizes ventilation bricks to ensure protection from rainy weather. It also allows air circulation from the facade to every nook and cranny. The selection and arrangement of the ventilation bricks, which have been under thorough consideration from the architect, are set up in different directions for aesthetic aspects as well as functioning as drainage and ventilators,” says Duy Le, who adds that the pond also helps regulate the temperature within the tropical abode.

The Coco House fits in perfectly with Duy Le Architects’ mission. “Our two main design influences are sculpture and climate,” the company website says. “It all starts with being sensitive to the local climate and mitigating the effects of climate change by using readily available, cost-effective, energy efficient, sustainable materials.”

The founder adds, “I always want to create impressive and different architectural works, sustainable with time, expressing the creativity and personality of Vietnamese people, not only for Vietnamese customers but also…all over the world.”

The post Vietnam’s Zen Coco House Connects to Family and Nature first appeared on Dornob.

This colorful Ho Chi Minh City apartment is the perfect example of how the maximalist madness is taking over homes IRL, not just in design mags and social media feeds. Dubbed the “Dreamscape” apartment and designed by the Saigon-based Red5Studio, the space is a colorful ode to space-age design that perfectly encapsulates the swervy-curvy, topsy-turvy, vividly playful vibes taking the design world by storm.

Home to a couple who makes their living in the art world, the Dreamscape Apartment was created to provide inspiration while also evoking a welcoming, homey environment. With a focus on curvy lines and soft edges as opposed to the hard, straight lines and sharp angles so commonly seen in minimalist decor, the home feels like a retro retreat — one bursting with skittle-worthy colors that pop against its white-walled palette.

The middle of the apartment is dominated by a burnt orange sofa that looks straight out of a (comfy) spaceship — but that’s not all. A swirly, partially enclosed blue-walled “cave” faces the space-age sofa and houses DJ equipment for entertaining guests. The room itself is open, airy, and full of light, highlighting the many pops of riotous color that draw the eye — a flower power rug here, a globe light fixture there, the perfect balance of kitsch and low-key elegance.

The open plan main room flows purposefully into a dining room that’s by far the most understated space in the apartment. Dominated by a clear resin table that catches the light and swirls with delicate ripples, the effect is subdued yet magical. You can even spot a touch of whimsy in the accompanying black and green chairs, and the matching green kitchen counter behind them.

The bedroom continues the space’s study in bright, shapely furnishings with a gold upholstered bed complete with zebra-patterned bedding and super groovy light fixtures.The curved doorway and mirrored room divider are straight out of the 1988 Geena Davis classic Earth Girls are Easy — think a “futuristic” 1950s design aesthetic seen though the lens of over-the-top 1980s glam.

Despite its excesses, the Dreamscape apartment is still quite livable. Its rainbow-hued grooviness is perfectly complemented by its soft edges and muted, swirling aesthetics. It’s nighttime neon and DJ cave make it the perfect place for a party. A scintillating blend of futuristic funk and retro vibes, this Ho Chi Minh City apartment is the epitome of multidimensional maximalism — and the height of “good vibes only” style.

The post Space-Age Style Gets Its Groove Back in this Retro Ho Chi Minh City Apartment first appeared on Dornob.

“We decided to create a structure that can blend itself into its surrounding environment, the special features [are] all about the mixing, the lightness, the hiding, the penetration. The result is an organic structure just like straw sitting [in] the garden.”

Working from the belief that “straw is an image of memory, one that belongs to the Vietnamese countryside,” the MIA team, led by principal architect Nguyen Hoang Manh, constructed a framework reminiscent of a pile of straw collected after a summer’s harvest.

Nestled in a parkland in the Ho Chi Minh City suburb of Thủ Đức, the pavilion was commissioned by construction media company Ashui for their 2021 exhibition and awards ceremonies. To facilitate those needs, MIA Design Studio began with a wooden platform for presentations and then surrounded it with a metal grid structure, allowing them to strategically place wooden planks at perpendicular angles through the mesh.

That backdrop is situated across a stream from a large area for spectators, connected by a narrow wooden footbridge. At night, the Straw Pavilion is immersed in a glow of light, lit up at ground level by radiant bulbs. The lattice design gives the structure a kind of shapeshifting quality as observers change positions, with different angles providing adjusted perspectives. The see-through nature of the batten and mesh was intended to let the “straw” simultaneously stand out from and merge with the surrounding landscape of fruit and vegetable gardens.

“The straw is an entity that is able to completely blend itself into the natural context,” the architects explain. “Not parading around shapes as well as materials, we hope it is able to appear and disappear with time, with no direct interaction to the garden itself. In the most perspicuous way, this is a structure which does not damage the one existing, it blends in smoothly.”

For its thoughtful outdoor design, MIA was nominated for the 2021 Architecture Masterprize, and was a finalist for the 2021 Architizer A+ award.
MIA Design Studio got its start in Ho Chi Minh City in 2003. Now a firm employing over 50 architects, interior designers, and technicians, its guiding principles include a commitment to sustainability to “ensure that our actions and decisions today do not inhibit the opportunities of future generations.” They attempt to be efficient and moderate in their use of materials, energy, and development space.

As great admirers of the modernist movement, the company is known for their “formal simplicity, [and the] integration of interior and exterior into fluid spaces with special attention to the landscape and climate conditions of each project.”

The post MIA’s Straw Pavilion Keeps Nature at the Heart of Modernity first appeared on Dornob.

That’s why the firm focuses on designing homes that feel connected to nature and as peaceful as a monastery. 23o5 Studio isn’t trying to force rural architectural vernacular into urban settings, though. Their designs are modern and well-suited to their environments, often made of concrete. But each one is envisioned not just as a shelter, but as a place that makes you forget all your worries the moment you step in the door. In 2015, they completed “Longcave,” located in the city of Vinh Long, a long and narrow home that blocks out views of direct neighbors and city streets while bringing in elements of sunlight, water, and living greenery. Now, with “Longcave 2,” the architects have taken that sense of serenity one step further by introducing an indoor fish pond that surrounds the main living area.

Inspiration for the project came from Hang Son Doong, a cave located with the UNESCO-listed Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. It’s the world’s largest cave when measured by cross-section, renowned for its spectacular underground rainforests, unusual formations like cave pearls, rays of sunlight streaming through natural openings overhead, and placid pools full of fish. From the street-facing facade, the all-white home doesn’t look like much, but that’s because the wonders within are only visible to the residents and their guests.

The architects conceived the home as a series of voids. Like the original Longcave, it occupies a long skinny strip of urban real estate measuring about 32 by 164 feet. Indoor spaces are staggered with perimeter walls and private courtyard gardens to encourage a sense of discovery. The primary living spaces are completely open and lacking interior walls, their areas defined instead by the positioning of skylights and double-height atriums. The dark ribbon of water forms a perimeter around the living room and tea room, koi glittering beneath the surface. Rays of sunlight piercing the skylights, broad-leafed tropical greenery, and the feeling of openness combined with varying ceiling heights do, in fact, make the home feel like a cave — in a very good way.

“With thoughts create a place, not just a house, but it is where emptying anxiety, fear, the only remaining calm,” the architects say. “’The Longcave’ is inspired space section of Son Doong cave, and human life in the initial period of the cave. When stepping through a door and step in space without walls, the space is a combination of the voids. The different sectional shape for the same equivalent area create different feelings for each space. The boundary between inside and outside is blurred away. Light is deliberately set up with zones that directly and indirectly separate the space into different components: light, materials, transitions, tranquility.”

Obviously, homes like this are out of reach for most urban residents in Vietnam (and virtually everywhere else in the world). A private oasis in the middle of a dense, highly developed city is a luxury, especially when it’s as beautifully designed as Longcave 2. One can only daydream about a reality in which everyone is deemed significant enough to deserve access to the comforts of nature left behind as society urbanizes. Who’s ready to campaign for skylights, courtyards, and indoor pools for all?

The post An Indoor Fish Pond Makes This Tropical Vietnamese Home Even More Tranquil first appeared on Dornob.

The Red Cave is a luxurious, wellness-oriented residence that truly finds the best of both worlds: access to plenty of spacious, tranquil green spaces and all the conveniences of the city. The architects wanted to honor the traditional Vietnamese architectural form of “Đình,” a type of communal house found in rural villages, but update it for 21st-century urban living. Intimate indoor spaces are interspersed with layers of outdoor areas on multiple levels, always considering both views and privacy in relation to surrounding structures. Terraces are strategically set to peer between neighbors instead of right at them, and courtyards are tucked into walled gardens that almost feel like different worlds than the busy streets outside.

The layers are divided into three major zones: fitness and exercise on the ground floor, yoga on the second floor and a “chill” terrace on the third floor. Pillars at ground level separate indoors from out in a porous, “ambiguous” way. Tropical foliage pokes up from a ring of reflecting pools on all four sides, separated from the street by a garden. Circular concrete islands offer places to lounge and enjoy the dappled light shimmering on the surface. Workout equipment is set adjacent to large mirrors to amplify the sense of fluidity.

On the second floor, a large yoga room with a herringbone wood floor looks out onto yet another reflecting pool. Here, the architects inserted what they call a “vague” box with glass walls and perforated wooden screens that let in light and air. “The corridor around the box was extended out into the garden, able to step on several rocks,” they say. “We focused more on harnessing the light at the main seat (terrazzo circle-slab), surrounded by the structural slope roof, creating a dark space to absorb the focused light. Trees, [the] water surface, [and] light are combined to create a tranquil garden atmosphere.”

The third floor houses the living areas, envisioned as a retreat for the hosts. These spaces include a kitchen and tea room leading out to an open terrace with views of the Saigon River. A perimeter garden of tall greenery adds to the illusion that the occupants and their guests are somewhere in the jungle instead of a highly populated city. Of course, the fact that this is a private luxury project gives it an exclusivity that’s less than egalitarian, but imagine the mental health boost we could all enjoy if more public spaces and apartment buildings were designed like this.

“The overall structure of the project is the mix, combining architectural and natural elements, creating a special, impressive building from the external structure to the experience space inside,” the architects explain. “We are calling the structure of convergence, the unity between people and architecture and nature. Homogeneous materials inside and outside, erasing boundaries, only the subject and the atmosphere surrounding the subject establish the characteristics of the space according to the purpose of use and each activity that takes place.”

The post Red Cave House Turns an Ordinary City Block into a Lush Jungle first appeared on Dornob.

Red5studio didn’t need to weave these metal strips into a typical nest shape or use any shades of brown to evoke the feeling of a nest. Their abstracted interpretation sets the tone in a refreshing shade of pale yellow, partially obscured by a living tree sprouting from the sidewalk out front. And while it’s certainly distinct from the homes and businesses that surround it, the cafe manages to avoid alienating its neighbors. As different as it is, it feels like it fits right in.

The architects previously created another location for café brand September called “Autumn and Fall Leaves.” This location, “The Wind and the Nest,” continues that story. They wanted to focus on the feeling of fresh air, movement, and connection to nature while also establishing an engaging series of nooks and crannies within the café that encourage visitors to get comfortable, have conversations, and enjoy both the food and the setting.

That invitation to linger is a striking departure from the fast-paced café and restaurant culture in many other countries like the U.S., which often prioritizes moving patrons in and out quickly to accommodate the greatest possible number of people per day. Here, comfort is prioritized, and as you walk through each level and each outdoor terrace, you enjoy a feeling of discovery. With all that greenery in an urban environment and the visual interest of the architecture itself, you could spend hours just taking in the scenery.

One of the coolest things about this design is that the steel ribbons actually sway slightly in the wind, “like a symbolic image of birds on a branch,” as the architects explain. That gives the building a dynamic feeling, almost as if it’s alive.

The designers explain that “to create the familiar and characteristic feeling of September, we use gentle neutral tones such as white, beige, rose-orange, and natural wood colors. Besides that, the circular image and the curve [reoccur in] the glass holes of the entrance, stairs, on the wall, and even just the tiny details on the furniture. The wind’s image is led by curves in space, through the ceiling, walls, and floor, creating a light feeling like a breeze spreading into each corner.”

“If the rooftop is an aerial garden, the lamp section is like a branch supporting the nest, and this is also the highlight of the space for those who love to check in and is the smoking area. The entire furniture and space was inspired by bird’s nests, curves, branches, birds on branches, and simply a tiny dot circle, all creating a bird’s nest in the heart of the city.”

The post Swirling Coffee Shop in Vietnam Envisioned as a Giant Bird’s Nest first appeared on Dornob.

Designed by Nguyen Khai Architects & Associates (NKAA), the four-story residence is a fresh take on the Vietnamese architectural trend of wrapping homes with airy perforated facades that blur the boundaries between indoors and out, regulate sunlight, and allow for plenty of natural ventilation. In this case, vertical white louvers set in front of all-glass walls provide just the barest hint of privacy for the building’s inhabitants, with wide horizontal strips blocking views from the sidewalk below. This visibility to the world outside is buffered by placing less private functions on the outer edges of the building, like dining tables, kitchen counters, and stairways.

The design began with an existing 18-year-old house that was in dire need of renovation. The footprint measures just 376 square feet, and is fully occupied at the lowest level by the café run by the building’s owner. The nearly all-white café features sculptural furniture, bamboo chairs, and living greenery, a theme that continues as you ascend into the residence above. The next level up is home to the clients, a couple and their two young daughters, while the third floor and half of the fourth floor host grandparents and uncles. The “sacred space” is a balcony tucked behind the louvered facade, accessible to the whole family.

Working with such a confined floor area, the architects managed to make each level feel airy and comfortable. Platform beds are set along the rear wall behind sliding woven screens, beside the bathrooms. The kitchens are small, but when you’re gazing out all that glass at the world outside, it’s hard to feel confined. Smart details like a bench with a sliding table that also serves as the base of a ladder-like staircase make the most of the space available. The grandparents’ level has a somewhat more conventional layout with a dining table and benches, and the uncles’ lofted bedroom nooks stagger upwards toward the roof.

“Spending time talking to and understanding the essential needs of the owner, we designed Tiam in a way to give him a better standard of living, along with valuable experiences for each and all members in the house,” say the architects. “It has three floors, one attic, a balcony, and a terrace. The effective solution for such limited built area is to design the interior as minimal as possible, and to create continuous and open spaces. We create functional zones and place objects in order to bring members of the family closer to each other, but still be able to have their private spaces if necessary.”

They add that “plant pots of different sizes are found in every corner of the building. Plant pots on the louvers, balcony, terrace, and inside the house create a calm and pleasant atmosphere. Although Tiam is located near a crowded crossroad, all family members still feel close to nature and [enjoy] a peaceful living space.”

The post NKAA Fits Café and 3-Generation Home Into Tiny Corner Lot in Vietnam first appeared on Dornob.

Mái Apartment embraces and reimagines the aftermath of Vietnam’s fraught colonial history. The country was controlled by France for more than six decades as part of the so-called “French Indochina,” during which time the French believed it was their responsibility to introduce modern Western political, social, industrial, and technological ideas to Asian and African nations in order to “civilize” them.

Northern Vietnam declared independence from France in 1945, but Western influences continued to have a big impact in the ensuing decades. Imported from the United States, Modernist architecture flourished as part of an effort to overthrow the French neoclassicism, introducing a new aesthetic of concrete and terrazzo to the otherwise-tropical environment. Great examples of this style in Vietnam include the General Science Library by Nguyen Huh Then and Bui Quang Hang and Independence Palace by Ngô Viết Thụ.

Take a walk through Ho Chi Minh City and you’ll see evidence of these influences on virtually every street. The style is easy to spot when it comes to exteriors, but less common indoors, especially within residences. Whale Design Lab, led by architect Hanh Le, has brought to life a striking arrangement of minimalist surfaces and monumental forms without making any significant structural changes to the existing apartment.

One significant influence is Louis Kahn, one of America’s greatest 20th-century architects. A master of Brutalism, Kahn created such visionary structures as the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California (1959-65), Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire (1965-72), and the striking National Assembly Building in Dhaka, Bangladesh (1962-63). His work is typified by dynamic geometric shapes, and though most of his structures were made of cold and hefty cement, they never felt static or boring.

Hanh Le saw in Kahn’s work a revolutionary functionality and pared-down elegance, eventually leading him to wonder how could these aesthetics be recreated “in a boring four-bedroom condo apartment.”

The giant circular cutouts seen in the Phillips Exeter Academy appear here in a new way, sliced out of interior concrete walls that allow light to pass between the spacious, open two-level living area and a quiet study with a curving built-in desk upstairs. They’re echoed by the rounded archways subtly separating and defining various interior spaces, including the lip of a gorgeous terrazzo floor, which uses large chunks of white marble inlay instead of aggregate for an updated look.

This terrazzo continues both up the stairs to the second level and into the kitchen, where it forms the counters, central island, and even a backsplash. Custom furniture, like a rounded dining table with a built-in planter for a living tree, perfectly complements the architecture of the space. Tropical greenery and warm wood give it an edge that’s distinctly Vietnamese.

The apartment takes its name, mái, from the Vietnamese word for “polish.” It took three years to complete, but the result meets all of the clients’ needs with a refreshing sense of uniqueness that can’t be found anywhere else.

The post Modernist Apartment Makeover Brings Louis Kahn to Tropical Vietnam first appeared on Dornob.

“Ha Long Villa” is remarkable at first glance not just for its irregular geometric facade, but also for the trees poking out of large apertures on every side, all the way up to the roof. Along with providing a little extra shade, the trees give the home a garden-like atmosphere that helps connect its inhabitants to nature within the rapidly industrializing coastal city of Ha Long.

The architects’ two principle motivations may seem to be at odds: the increasing loss of forests and other undeveloped spaces in the area, and the need to create high-quality sustainable housing that meets Ha Long’s rising standard of living. The result is an airy modern home with almost as much exterior living space as interior, though realistically, it’s a bit oversized as a single-family home to truly be considered sustainable.

“The semi-exterior space connects the interior and the terrace part of the garden, and is a place to promote various living activities,” the firm explains. “It is a multipurpose space which serves as a connection between each space. It is a place for gardening, sightseeing, sitting, [and] walking, and it also connects to the living space. These distinctive spaces offer residents options in their daily lives, like whether to dine inside or outside on a particular day. The various movements in the resident’s lives are also conveyed to the neighborhood through [the] windows in the exterior facade.”

Between the wrap-around terraces and all the plants on the rooftop, the architects have planted more greenery than construction of the home displaced, though of course, public green spaces have a lot more value to the community at large. VTN Architects took inspiration from stones found in the nearby UNESCO World Heritage Site Ha Long Bay for the rough exposed concrete of the exterior walls, which themselves are dappled in shadow by all the greenery. As the trees change along with the seasons, so does the facade.

“Ha Long Villa is one of the prototypes of ‘House for Trees,’ which is a series of residential projects,” add the architects. “The aim of the series is to bring green spaces back into the city, and to design as much greenery as was present in the original landscape to provide a healthier life to people living in the city. Due to the simplicity of the concept, the idea of ‘House for Trees’ can be multiplied almost anywhere in tropical climate regions. As part of the vast landscape, Ha Long Villa harmonizes with the natural environment. And Ha Long Villa aims to be a space where people return to living surrounded by nature.”

It would be cool to see the passive cooling double-facade concept catch on in other hot places, particularly deserts. Can’t you imagine something like this working in a place like Nevada or Arizona with cacti instead of trees?

The post Ha Long Villa: Home in Vietnam Wrapped in an Inhabitable Garden first appeared on Dornob.

Planted rooftops can also help lessen heat exposure, reducing the need for air conditioning outside. But one of the biggest benefits of a usable rooftop is its ability to expand access to the outdoors. Many existing houses could be modified to support retrofits, but building new ones specifically with this feature in mind allows for even more creative possibilities.

With “The Red Roof,” a house in the Vietnamese province of Quang Ngai, TAA Design shows how to take full advantage of a small plot of land without sacrificing access to nature or the ability to grow food. The total area of the property is just 80 square meters (861 square feet), which could have easily led to an unsatisfying compromise between indoor and outdoor space in a more conventional house/yard arrangement. Set on the main road of a rural village that has seen rapid urbanization in recent years, the house was designed to meet the needs of a married couple in their 50s who wanted access to garden space and room to dry rice paddy after harvesting.

The architects immediately knew that maintaining this kind of traditional lifestyle would be hard in a community where big, modern houses were increasingly infringing upon the remaining green space. They decided to go with a stepped roof design full of built-in planters to make gardening tasks as easy as possible on the aging couple. The house itself stretches to the full boundaries of the property, maximizing space inside as well as creating room for numerous courtyards outside, complete with a bicycle repair space, traditional outdoor wood stove, paddy drying yards, a rice warehouse, chicken yards, and more.

The TAA team adds: “In the search of a new appropriate typology for the context, we [were] convinced that adapting the new architecture based on the traditional cultural lifestyle of the couple [was] the most important task. Vegetable gardens and multi-purpose playgrounds become the soul of houses in this village. We proposed small courtyards in the front, middle, and back of the house to connect indoor spaces with nature. Instead of having a large yard like other houses in the village, we create[d] many courtyards with different heights suitable for the height of the house structure. On the mezzanine floor, there is a small yard connected to the yard in the middle of the house.”

“The rooftop garden is adjacent to the courtyard of the mezzanine floor, creating a playground and vegetable garden that connects from the roof to the ground floor. The products from the garden go directly to everyday meals, fresh and always available. The couple has happy hours together growing their own food, and a lot of times, sharing their products with the neighbor[ing] families. The architecture has [unexpectedly] been generating community social interactions as its by-product. The rooftop garden also has the role of insulating the house. The internal temperature is significantly reduced compared to [that of houses employing] corrugated steel [rooftops].”

The post Stepped Rooftop Creates Space for Urban Farming in Vietnam first appeared on Dornob.

Located in the southeast seaside city of Nha Trang, where winter tends to be dry with a steady temperature around 82 degrees Fahrenheit, “Timber House” by MM++ architects is a luxury getaway with outrageous views of nearby mountains and Nha Trang Bay. One of three vacation villas in a row, the home is carved into the hillside to take full advantage of the scenery.

For the architects, the biggest challenge in designing the home was anticipating future construction. With its white sand beaches and geography that protects it from major storms, Nha Trang is an increasingly popular place to live and visit as a tourist, and it’s likely to grow much denser in the coming decades. If they weren’t careful, all of those gorgeous sea views could have been obliterated in the near future.

While local building regulations set strict limits on how high homes can be, they also provide clear guidelines for what to expect from new construction popping up on the hillside around Timber House, so MM++ architects were able to anticipate the proportions they’d need to maintain sea views. To lock them in, they built the house up on a “podium” to the maximum height allowed by law.

Outfitted with sliding panels to open it completely to the outdoors, the main living space connects directly to a terraced swimming pool. When swimmers are in the water, they can gaze directly out at the bay, feeling almost like they can transition from one into the other. The pool also provides an additional buffer between the private interior spaces and neighboring residences—a nexus between the present and the future.

The design almost seems to spill down the hillside organically. Materials like teak timber cladding and local stone make the home feel like a natural feature of the landscape. The architects wanted the private bedroom spaces, which overhang the permeable public areas downstairs, to feel like a viewing platform made of wood, with large, operable louvers. The flow of shapes and materials, from the top level down, aim to enhance an effect of “suspension.”

Inside, everything is tailored to provide the ultimate in comfort and hospitality for guests, with plenty of room for entertaining.

From the architect: “Considering the site characteristics with the cliff in the back and the lower street level, the program is spread vertically, along multiple levels… On street level, the garage and a large home cinema in the back of the pool with an underwater window taking natural sun light trough the pool, technical and spa spaces in the back. On an intermediate level, facing the cliff, a bedroom suite with a private garden and outdoor bathroom.”

“Deck level hosts the main space where dining island, kitchen and living room are merged in one unique space in seamless connection with outdoor spaces. The high ceiling level has allowed including a mezzanine floor, turned into a bedroom suite with panoramic view over the kitchen. The timber box hosts the first floor with two bedroom suites.”

Are you ready to book your flight yet, or is it just us?

The post Modern Tropical: Terraced Timber House in Vietnam first appeared on Dornob.

Based in Ho Chi Minh City, Kientruc O is a young firm led by both an architect and an industrial designer, with a mission to create architecture “that facilitates and embraces a coherent symbiosis between humans and the environment.” TTC Elite Saigon Kindergarten, TTC Elite Ben Tre Kindergarten, and Chuon Chuon Kim 2 Kindergarten all illustrate this philosophy.

Each building’s appeal to children is obvious upon first glance. The newest school, TTC Elite Saigon, is a fusion of childlike and modernist elements that never feels patronizing. Its monolithic, rounded white mass is punctuated by windows in all sorts of shapes and sizes, each one framed in a vivid color. Enormous pink, orange, and fuchsia blobs seem to float randomly across the facade.

Located close to the city’s railway station, the kindergarten is built upon an existing foundation inherited from the previous building, which gave the architects their starting point but clearly didn’t limit them. The firm says they wanted to provoke a sense of curiosity from the kids as they approach it each day.

They explain: “The windows are apertures that peer the view from inside to outside, stimulating emotion, imagination, and curiosity, establishing a direct relationship between the kids playing inside and the living, ever-changing external environment. Through the openings, light runs along the colored windowsill, highlighting and washing over the interior space with its dyed color, reciting an enchanted and fairytale-like atmosphere.”

TTC Elite Ben Tre, completed in 2017, aims for a peaceful atmosphere emphasizing the mild, pleasant tropical climate and interaction with nature. The architects implemented principles from traditional Vietnamese architectural language, including an open plan, but the coolest part is the rounded, grassy roof that creates an elevated playground.

“In its presence, the hill is the cornerstone that helped found the architectural identity of the school. It was conceived as a place that juggles the senses and tickles the curiosity inside each kid, leaving them wondering and anticipating of what excitement is awaiting them beyond the hill.”

Chuon Chuon Kim 2 Kindergarten, located in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 2, looks only slightly more conventional than the others thanks to its brick facade. But there’s nothing ordinary about it, particularly when it comes to the protruding, telescope-like volumes on top and the window openings shaped like archetypal gabled houses.

“Like a giant LEGO building, the kindergarten is constructed entirely in bare brick forming patterns and openings that are playful to the eyes, conveying a unique aesthetic value and promoting natural ventilation. Classrooms and utility rooms are organized around a playful core. Each floor is arranged in an alternating pattern to enhance vertical interaction, encourage children to be more receptive to their surroundings, and stimulate their inner creativity.”

Don’t they make you wish all schools were so thoughtfully designed?

Of course, the firm didn’t necessarily set out to be a designer of kindergartens. Their other work includes homes, offices, and restaurants that are no less creative than their school designs. See it all at KientrucO.com.

The post 3 Imaginative Kindergarten Designs by Vietnamese Studio Kientruc O first appeared on Dornob.

There’s a lot to love in Hoi An, one of Vietnam’s most beautiful traditional towns. For starters, there are its glorious white sand beaches dotted with tropical palm trees. Then there’s the ancient trading port of Old Town Hoi An, which dates back to the 15th century. Even better, this area’s historic architecture is among some of the best-preserved in the entire nation.

Showing influences from countries all around it, including China and Japan, the Old Town is often packed with tourists coming to admire its many charms and multitude of canals. Outside the town, much of the land is still wild and minimally developed.

But to really enjoy Hoi An, you have to be prepared for a bit of extreme weather. The dry season runs from May through September, with temperatures commonly hitting 100°F. The rest of the year is wet, with torrential rains frequently causing floods. So when architecture firm D1 was commissioned to create a duplex villa along the Hoi An River, they knew they’d have to place a high priority on working with the regional climate.

The Vietnam-based studio founded in 2017 by architect Tan Nguyen has quickly gained a reputation for blending modern elements with the local vernacular, employing plenty of organic materials in the process. They believe in creating “responsibly-designed buildings” that are custom-tailored to each site. The key to injecting “soul” into each structure lies in taking cues from the things the surrounding buildings are made from — and of course, from paying local artisans to do much of the work.

M VILLA is the latest hospitality project from the firm to be made with materials like coconut leaves and local stone, wood, and bamboo, taking advantage of the skills and craftsmanship associated with each of those items in the area. But because the duplex is set along the river, it’s especially prone to storms and floods, so it needed a little extra creative thinking to ensure its full protection.

D1 created a large overhanging roof made of layered and overlapped coconut leaves to create a sort of tent over the living areas, simultaneously cooling them and giving them additional protection from the rain. These common spaces are also set along the exterior of each unit to take advantage of the surrounding views, natural daylight, and fresh air. Private spaces like bedrooms and bathrooms are set into the core of the structure, and are decidedly more “reserved for resting.”

The architects add: “At the same time, both spaces are seamlessly connected to the surrounding nature. To effectively take advantage of the beautiful surrounding landscape, the design minimizes walls to the max in order to maximize wide angles. All functions are arranged vertically, leaving the ground floor open, flexible, and easy to move in case [the] water level rises during [the] heavy rainy season.”

“Local materials and skilled craftsmanship are greatly employed [in this project]. This helps create a harmonic integration between the project and its surrounding scenes and landscape. More importantly, this allows for the preservation and promotion of traditional crafting villages amid today’s mass production age in Vietnam.”

A lush “coconut forest” of palm trees along the edge of the river acts as a transitional zone, helping to further alleviate flooding concerns. Elsewhere, high stone walls topped with wooden privacy panels help create backyard oases despite the two tenants living so close to one another. The back side of the duplex meets the street, too, ensuring that the lot is primarily used for respite and recreation.

The post M VILLA: A Tropical Vietnamese Duplex by D1 Architects first appeared on Dornob.

The post Spiraling Green Roof House in Vietnam first appeared on Dornob.

The post Abandoned Building to Garden Home: Fresh Renovation in Saigon first appeared on Dornob.

One red brick home in a row of nearly-identical dwellings definitely doesn’t blend in anymore after the addition of a decorative white brick shell that dramatically modernizes the home without completely rebuilding it. Vietnamese firm Landmak Architecture devised this screen to perk up the space, which is located in a once-posh and expensive area that’s now a little neglected after an economic crisis. “We want this place to be reborn, with a new form (full of energy, romantic, peaceful with an awareness of security,” say the designers.

The new facade creates some separation between the street and the home itself, allowing much of the brick to be replaced with glazing for maximum sunlight exposure indoors without sacrificing privacy. The interiors are obscured from view, yet from inside, they feel light and breezy. The design also allows for two new lush courtyards on either end of the house, open to the sun, rain and wind.

On the upper levels, the screen conceals balconies that provide additional indoor/outdoor spaces on the edges of the kitchen and bedrooms, allowing the occupants to enjoy the outdoors in a way that’s almost disconnected from their real environment in a very ordinary suburban neighborhood. In addition to installing the facade, the architects added an additional level, raising the roof to the maximum height allowed within the building code.

The post Conventional Brick Home Cocooned in a Modern Shell first appeared on Dornob.