A Koi-Filled Moat Surrounds This Vietnamese House

When the marketing director for a large corporation in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam was in search of a new home, he sought a place that would be a respite away from the stress of work and city life. He turned to young, local architects working collaboratively together: Nguyen Huu Duy of AmDesign Architects, Bui The Long of CTA | Creative Architect, and Nguyen Duy of Time Architects. Selecting a site about 45 minutes away from the city in Can Giuoc, Long An province, the trio built a home on a plot just under an acre. 

For maximum impact, the three designers sited the home adjacent to a lake, providing expansive views and heat reduction during the day. The residence itself consists of 5 separate blocks that are arranged under a thick thatched roof, each providing unique views into other spaces in the home as well as out onto the landscape beyond. The placement of the structures also promotes natural ventilation and ensures that natural daylight reaches each space.

The most exceptional part of the house is its roof, consisting of wood structural supports topped with sheet metal that is then covered by thatch, which is typical of the architectural vernacular of Southwest Vietnam. Here, it combines tradition with modern details, and has the added benefit of acting as insulation and therefore reducing the impact solar heat gain and maintaining a comfortable indoor temperature.

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Throughout the house, the nature-inspired, soothing material and color palette is repeated on multiple elements; the wood paneling at the ceiling is continued as a cladding material for some of the concrete walls. The concrete floor was designed so that it could serve as a final finish, saving costs and also creating a tactile experience when walking across it.

Running through the center of the home is a long, narrow clerestory window that brings in daylight to all spaces and directs the eye upward to the sky, allowing the residents to note the movement of the sun throughout the day. 

Related Reading: A Concrete Home in Vietnam Is Topped With Trees 

Project Details:

Architects: Nguyen Huu Duy of AmDesign Architects, Bui The Long of CTA | Creative Architect, Nguyen Duy of Time Architects
Contractor for Exterior Construction: Local foreman and masons.  
Concrete finishing: Betonlab
Contrastor for Interior Construction : Kim Quoc Co., Ltd
Photography : Hiroyuki Oki