Taking inspiration from the traditional ancient alleys in Vietnamese culture, D.O.G HOUSE architectural office has designed a 148m2 project in Sơn Tây town (Hanoi), creating a nostalgic and unique atmosphere within this house.
The alley (in Hà Nội, Việt Nam) is usually as narrow and long as a capillary connecting many households or generations in a big family. It is a link between inside and outside, public and private, and childhood and adulthood. The idea originates from the long and narrow position of the land plot, which is not square but organically closely related to the residential cluster.
In the context of Hanoi’s urban rush, rapid development, and unbalanced ecosystem, creating a living space close to nature is a very important thing to help people achieve balance and relaxation in their accommodations. Inheriting the native architecture of the traditional tube house, this is a passive-cooling house, maximizing the green area from the entrance, courtyard, and roof garden.
D.O.G
Interior and decoration in minimalist style with native colors include natural stone, gravel, natural wood, and indigenous brocade fabric. Indoor lighting is handled by the maximum combination of natural light and reflectors, creating subtle shadows for the passage, common space, and private rooms. The color of the wall and the curved lines of the screen help to camouflage and remove the angular boundaries of the land shape.
The main function of this house is to create living space for three generations of families, corresponding to three small families. Each family has an organized living space in a room around the middle courtyard – a place to communicate between family members as well as a living garden, a place to welcome close family guests instead of the living room space. There is also a common kitchen space, dining room, sauna, worship room, and rooftop, where children can enjoy running and jumping in an urban context with limited playgrounds.
The finishing material is olive soil, a mixture of materials modified according to the traditional method of Northern Vietnam to help cool in the summer and keep warm in the winter. It is especially capable of absorbing moisture in the typical humid climate of the North of Vietnam.
Different from the tube houses racing to access the main road, this house retreats to create a garden, using silence to control the hustle and bustle of the city and green infrastructure to overwhelm the surrounding urban concrete area. This house is the synthesis of the trend toward environmental protection while maintaining both tangible and intangible cultures.
Photo
Cao Xuân Hoà
