85 Design has completed a family house in Vietnam on a plot measuring just 5m x 20m. To fit a family home on so little land, the architects spread it over five levels and focused on the two problems such sites usually bring: too little daylight and poor ventilation.
A large arch on the street front
Light comes in mainly through a large arched opening on the facade that rises through several floors. After dark, the lit interior shows through it and the house looks like a lantern on the street.
The arch theme starts at the front fence. Past the fence and the carport, an arched wood door is set into a block wall. It opens onto the ground floor, which holds a sitting area, built-in planters and a laundry area.
An atrium at the centre
Wood stairs with glass railings and a series of bridges link all the levels and look over a central atrium. Interior windows face this void, so daylight filters into the rooms around it. Every level has built-in planters, and at the bottom of the atrium there is a koi pond with a tree.
In the living room, a wood accent wall continues into the kitchen, where the same finish is used for the cabinets and the island.
Bedroom and roof
One bedroom has a sliding glass door facing the street, with a close view of the top of the facade arch. Other rooms have wood-framed windows. At the top of the house, a large window wraps from the ceiling down onto the wall and lights the atrium from above. A rooftop deck next to it is furnished with a couple of chairs and plants.
The drawings published with the project include a south elevation, sun and wind analyses and perspective sections.
As a general point, a tall void through the middle of a deep, narrow house can bring daylight and moving air to rooms that have no side windows of their own.
Project credits
- Architects: 85 Design
- Architect in charge: To Huu Dung
- Contractor: Antcons
- Structural engineer: Dao Ngoc Son
- MEP: Thinh Tran
- Interior design: Trinh Mai Giang
- Photography: To Huu Dung
- Project location: Vietnam
- Source: Contemporist