/ Story: Kangsadan K. / English version: Bob Pitakwong /
/ Photographs: Apinine Thassanopas /
A home in an elongated rectangle performs a dual role as a multigenerational residence and an architectural office in the middle of a densely populated area in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Needless to say, there were site constraints that limited the design of the building. Some of the challenges were just inevitable, but an architect homeowner has found a way to deal with them, turning the hot and stuffy home into a clean, well-lighted place. The secrets to success lie in reconnecting with nature by integrating green spaces in the plan. Notwithstanding the narrow space, the home is lovingly restored and fully loaded with all functionalities.
A view from the street shows how a narrow lot limits and influences design, making it necessary to build vertically.
As the architect explained it, living in a crowded urban environment doesn’t always mean sacrificing good life or cutting off from the great outdoors. On the contrary, it’s design flexibility and serious attention to detail that’s the key to combining both opaque and see-through structures to form a whole, ultimately creating in a living space that breathes easily.
A charcoal sketch illustrates spatial planning and functionality on the first floor. / Courtesy of k59 atelierCharcoal drawings show spatial planning on the second and third floors. / Courtesy of k59 atelierCharcoal sketches show the positioning of rooms and functionalities on the fourth floor [top], and the rooftop deck [bottom]. / Courtesy of k59 atelierA drawing of the side elevation view in cross section. / Courtesy of k59 atelierThe architect and family enjoy the cozy ambiance of a living room that reflects a multigenerational home.
In other words, it’s a home that’s not so much a solid mass of stonework, and not so much a sealed-off glass enclosure that can never be open. They are inherent parts of the building that reach out to reconnect with nature, people, culture and society at large.
A full-size kitchen lies at the rear of the house with a back door that can open directly onto the road behind it.
Speaking of design, all four levels of the building feature open floor plans that allow natural light and provide fresh air to the interiors. The first floor holds a spacious living room up front and a kitchen at the rear that’s proper in the circumstances of a big family.
A footbridge gives access to a bedroom at the rear of the house.The mezzanine holds an altar showing honor and reverence for family ancestry according to Vietnamese culture. It’s covered with a gable roof consistent with vernacular architecture in the region.
Together, they form the heart of a multigenerational home, with plenty of space for an elderly mother, an aunt, a brother, and the architect’s own family with a little child. The second floor bears some resemblance to a mezzanine with an altar for the veneration of family ancestry characteristic of Vietnamese culture. The third floor is the architect’s private office space, while the fourth holds the principal bedroom with a green garden oasis for complete relaxation.
The third floor has a footbridge providing access to a bedroom at the far end elevated by potted indoor plants.The third floor holding an architectural workspace feels spacious and airy, thanks to an open floor plan.The architect’s office space benefits from natural light and fresh air, passive cooling strategies that saves big on AC costs.
There’s one feature that’s exceptionally good. The elongated rectangle is divided into two more or less distinct sections. The front and rear parts of the house lie separated by a center corridor onto which rooms open.
The top floor holds a private residential space accessed via a footbridge that connects the sitting room up front with the bedroom at the rear.
By design, functional spaces are located up front, with private residential areas tucked away in quiet places at the rear. The bedrooms for family members are scattered on almost every floor. For optimal traffic flow, all the rooms are linked to one another via the corridor and stairway at the center.
The house façade with lush plants thriving in a garden trough brings positive vibes to the home.The facade supports a vertical garden from the third floor to the top. Plant irrigation is well planned to prevent water splashing back into the home.
Apart from the bright and airy center hall, the building façade features pleasing simplicity of appearance. At ground level, a bi-fold fence system is crafted of perforated metal panels for good ventilation.
The sitting area has a small pantry for making breakfast and light meals without having to make a trip downstairs.
Above it, the balcony façade is enclosed by custom iron frames in various sizes and configurations, adorned with lush climbing vines. They thrive in company with small threes growing luxuriantly nearby. In essence, it’s about bringing green into the home, turning it into a healthy and happy place to live for a multigenerational family.
/ Story: Samutcha Viraporn / English version: Bob Pitakwong /
/ Photographs: Soopakorn Srisakul /
This lovingly restored home on the canal is a hybrid of wood and concrete. Made of recycled materials from an old building on the property, it evokes memories of the house on stilts symbolic of the Thai way of life. Reclaimed timber paired with the concrete framework and smart design elements creates a harmonious blend of traditional and modern.
The old house before a complete teardown to make room for a new home.
A New House with Old-World Charm
Suthep Iam-on is the owner of an old house on the canal in Bang Pakong area. It has fallen into disrepair. At first, he had planned to just leave it at that and move on to build a new house closer to the road instead. He sought advice from architect Kasin Sornsri of Volume Matrix Studioabout building a naked concrete home.
But after inspecting the proposed site, Kasin thought it wise to do a complete teardown of the old home to make room for a new one using materials recycled from the old house.
The interior makes use of large, open spaces. Food is prepared in the farthest area enclosed by brick walls. The door to the master bedroom is opposite a dining table set that the homeowner bought from BaanLaeSuan Fair. In the foreground, a sitting room with a sofa and coffee counter affords beautiful views.The coffee counter with a view. The stair leading to the second floor is to the right side of the room, protected from sunlight by a solid wall.Polished concrete surfaces adorn the front entrance. The doorway casing is made of reclaimed timber, while brickwork stands out as the main feature of the hybrid wood and concrete home.Homeowner Suthep Iam-on walks toward the rear of the house. The corridor looks spacious as it is in the interior living space.
Explaining his concept, Kasin said:
“Essentially, it’s about building a new home that’s very much part of the spirit of the times. It’s a design that connects with the way of life of ordinary people.
“At the same time, it doesn’t have to be the kind of Thai-style house that we have grown accustomed to for years. Not many people appreciate that. Nor is it anything like a group of buildings of the Ayutthaya Period.”
Built by locals over 40 years ago, the old stilt house was in poor condition. Many home features did not meet living standards now, plus a few add-ons were put in place, including concrete walls that enclosed the ground floor, which affected structural integrity.
Nonetheless, the way of life here has remained unchanged and carefully integrated into the new design. In the process, every little detail was decoded into intelligent language.
The result was an entirely new home built on a concrete structure. It has all the key attributes of the traditional Thai home, such as an open space on the ground floor, a platform along the outside for fresh air, and a corridor connecting the rooms. They are wrapped in old timber recycled from the old house.
The sitting parlor showcases numerous trophies won as prizes for victory in bird contests. Not far away, a full-grown tamarind tree keeps the living room in shade.On the southwest side, the hallway that contains a staircase receives a fair amount of sunlight. It’s protected from too much sun by a tamarind tree and wood pillars recycled from the old house. Shadows thrown on the wall are on show again, naturally.The wing that contains a bedroom is covered in reclaimed timber. It’s raised on piles to protect from humidity and doubles as an engine that drives natural air circulation. Variegated colors of old wood bespeak the vernacular choice of material.
Ground Floor Living Room, Simple Materials, and Lighting Ideas
The first eye-catching feature is the concrete framework with polished surfaces paired with stunning wood accents.
Reclaimed timber from the old house finds new purposes as flooring materials, interlaced structures resembling lattices, and pillars supporting lightweight parts of the building. Walk into the interior, and you come before an open floor plan that’s the hallmark of modern home design. Further back lies a courtyard with a corridor connecting the rooms.
There are bedrooms on one side and an open space on the other, which looks out over a garden and nearby Bang Samak Canal. As the homeowner puts it, the area arouses a sentimental longing for the past, especially memories of his father’s time.
One thing the architect is able to do is to concentrate on significant features of the Thai house and incorporate them into the language of the new house design.
They include the use of transom windows, skylights, pillars, and lattices, which he carefully places at intervals. In so doing, large pillars recycled from the old house are erected along the western front to help protect the area exposed to the sun.
By late afternoon, the soft glowing light from the sky alternating with dark areas creates a relaxing atmosphere like the Thai house in the olden days. By nightfall, lanterns light up at intervals as a means of visual expression and make the home cozy and welcoming.
The house built on stilts offers plenty of headroom on the ground floor to let fresh air enter and circulate from the southwest. Not far away, a full-grown tamarind tree keeps the area in the shade for much of the day.
From the canal looking in, the courtyard floor is covered in pebble stone pavers amid the vernacular garden that’s easy on the eyes. The homeowner’s son lives in the two-level wing on the right.The ground floor with plenty of headroom is characteristic of the Thai-style house on stilts. The area under the canopy of trees is kept cool by gentle breezes.Old wood piles not fitting for building purposes find new life as garden sculpture ideas by the waterfront.A garden path connects the house to a landing stage on the canal.Under the canopy of tall trees, the ground floor is open to receive cool breezes blowing in from the southwest.A warm and welcoming atmosphere embraced by nature.The character and atmosphere of the place viewed from the waterfront garden.
The Allure of a Handcrafted Home
The house has many aviaries for keeping birds in. They are there by design. At different places, new decor items stand embraced by old artifacts as a means of visual expression that merges countryside vernacular with modern living.
Together, they represent a source of pride and pleasure within the local community.
More than anything else, it’s a handmade home in its own right. The architect’s message is evident.
That is to say, a home doesn’t have to be of impeccable character. Bricks don’t have to be identical to make beautiful walls. “Likewise, if we look at life carefully, we’ll find that everyone is interesting in his own special way. All ways of life are just as beautiful,” said the architect.
The cube-shaped wing houses a sitting parlor that showcases trophies from victory in bird contests.Despite its contemporary cube design, the house is built of simple materials with features that are the hallmark of the traditional house on stilts.The hybrid wood and concrete home boasts a spacious ground floor that’s fully functional and perfectly suitable for modern living.An archway forms a passage from the landing stage on the canal. This picture was taken during a dry season.Seen from a distance, the house stands surrounded by mature trees that provide shade and make it comfortable to live.The power of storytelling. A veranda in front of the house showcases a collection of tools ad utensils used by the people of the Bang Pakong area.
Marketing/Advertising Cookies – used to remember and process the relevance to your website visit in order to personalize contents shown including optimization of commercial advertising placements. For instances, we use this type of cookies to display commercial advertisements related to user’s attributes and interests as well as to limit how many times should a user see repeated advertisement in order to optimize and measure marketing activities. อ่านเพิ่มเติม
QAH: A Gable Front Townhouse Strikes a Balance between Work and Life
Tan Phu House: From a Stuffy, Narrow Shophouse to a Multi-Floor Home with Rooftop Garden
