Office Name: dmarchitects
Social Media Accounts: dmarchitectsstudio
Contact email: dmarchitectsstudio@gmail.com
Firm Location: Hochiminh City – Vietnam
Completion Year: 2021
Gross Built Area (m2/ ft2): 270 m2
Project location: Hochiminh City – Vietnam
Lead Architects: Pham Duc Minh
Lead Architects e-mail: arch.minhpham@gmail.com
Photo Credits: Paul Phan
Photographer’s e-mail: paulphanfoto@gmail.com
A 40-year-old family home renovation project in a high-density residential area, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
The building was first built in the 1980s and has undergone several renovations and expansions. Up to now, due to the development of the family into a family of three generations – consisting of seven people. The need to create a space that meets the current life of the family.
Desire to create a quiet and intimate space, suitable for the local area – hot and humid tropical climate, ensuring comfort and privacy for family rest and activities in a crowded context.
Based on a thorough study of the existing structure, the components that can be removed, and the components that must be retained during the renovation process. However, there are some structural parts that cannot be secured without dismantling during the repair. So the architect decided to come up with a plan that allows for improvised design and custom construction of components that are uncertain to be on site.
The new structural solution creates a continuous connection between usable spaces, the connection between the inside and the outside, the connection between people and nature, avoiding the fact that people are completely separated from nature by building, but still ensure privacy.
The family living space and the kitchen are located in the heart of the house, and at the same time with the largest volume of space can be created with the old construction. Because that is the space where everyone in the family spends most of the time use, from the family living space, people can connect with all other spaces, make a close connection between family members.
The servant spaces are nestled to one side based on the old structure, ensuring the needs of family members. Avoid affecting the main spaces.
With the criterion of overcoming the limitations of ventilation and natural lighting of the old structure, the new structure makes the most of natural lighting and ventilation for the whole building, minimizing energy use in the operation process.
All rooms are arranged with ventilation windows at both ends – ensuring ventilation through the room from front to back of the house. Based on the old structural system, the architect proposes to open 3 atrium positions to ensure the best vertical ventilation, along with creating a buffer space in front of the house, in coordination with trees to prevent heat radiation directly into the building.
In addition, the arrangement of the water surface element on the ground floor is to balance the humidity and create a different pressure for more effective ventilation.
The red color of the house developed from the red-terrazzo stairs (ground floor) is kept intact during the repair process, and at the same time, the reuse of the family’s old furniture in the design will help recall the memories associated with the “home” in each person.
