Nha Dao Buoc House / H-H Studio

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Text description provided by the architects.The design concept was to create a space that resembles a catwalk for the female resident who has a special interest in fashion and is a dear friend of the architect. The catwalk starts from ground level at the stair in the living room, then up and wraps the atrium at each floor to the top level where daylight shines through the five “tropical boxes” (0.9 m cube, described further in a later paragraph) on the roof.“Catwalk” circulation spiraling around the atrium is to create the sense of a central core, connecting the rest of the spaces, and dynamically altering the viewpoint as a person walks by. The floor-to-ceiling curtain in the kitchen is utilized to hide the kitchenette as needed to use the space for gallery purposes, as to display fashion posters or family photos on a three-story height white wall.To create a building with living conditions that are suitable for tropical climate weather, we utilized these strategies in combination:With special attention to the arrangement of the space, opening, lighting, material, form, tree, etc. We were once surprised to hear from the owner that she was able to see the moon through the openings on the roof.The ground level floor plan is laid out to yield an open space (5 m x 5.3 m) to the rear of the building, which has an important role to open the view from the inside, promoting a sense of silence, calmness, relaxation, and adds the presence of nature such as moon view, sunlight, fresh air, and breeze.Supporting spaces such as the kitchen, circulation, and closet is arranged against the longitudinal side wall.Every single space is connected and supported with daylight, exterior fresh air, green space, and natural ventilation.The backyard (5 m x 5.3 m) allows an offset from the adjacent property to capture the summer breeze from the East.The greenery and metal vertical bar at the North-West front facade and the South- East rear facade could help to screen away the intense sun radiation, street noise, and vehicle fumes.The outer bricklayer of the double-wythe brick wall on the North-East and South-West side of the building are poked through with small pipes to let out the extra heat buildup in the airspace between the wythe.One design element is introduced to this project that we call the “tropical box”, which is designed with dual function - lighting and ventilation, sort of similar to a light scoop/cupola. The shutter faces the wind direction to catch the breeze (closed similar to a storm window), the fixed glass panel on top brings in daylight, and other faces of the box are built solid were needed more protection from the outside. There are five of these boxes punctuated through the roof to enhance the passive ventilation mechanism.