Excerpt: Long An House, designed by Tropical Space, reinterprets traditional Vietnamese houses using a modern and strong architectural language. The residence is stretched from front to back, creating continuous functional spaces with boundaries determined by light intensity and darkness. The design maximizes ventilation efficiency by dividing the roof into two parts, creating a courtyard, and connecting it with two corridors.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] The architects were inspired by the traditional house and wanted to design a house with the traditional structure accompanied by 3 separate spaces and slope roof, but using a modern and strong architectural language. At the same time, maximizing the ventilation efficiency by dividing the roof into two parts and having a courtyard; then allocating two corridors to connect the roof. This way created a courtyard and big walls. These are porous walls which can bring breeze into the house.
The Vietnam traditional house is stretched from front to back creating continuous functional spaces. These spaces’ boundaries are estimated by light with different intensity and darkness. The layout utilizes the wind direction of the local area in different seasons.
Approaching the house firstly is the front yard made by the hollow clay bricks, which can absorb the rain itself and reduce the heat on the floor. Following is a buffer space which creates the light transition from the yard to the living room, dining room and bedroom.
The kitchen area and other functional spaces are located on the north side and go along the house, which is an advantage to traditional cooking when many family members come and visit. The mezzanine accommodates two bedrooms, a relaxing and reading area and a long corridor connecting all spaces in the house through two stairs on both ends.
The users wanted to have a continuous space between the functional ones in and out of the house, so that the children can play and move freely throughout the house without being confined by separate walls.
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