TamHouse / A4 Architects

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Text description provided by the architects. Project TamHouse with an area of 3.6mx16m is located on a small alley in the heart of Hanoi, a typical land parcel commonly found in the urban area of Vietnam. The design task was a house with 3 generations living together, so the order is to have a living space for the big family on holidays, yet still ensure privacy when the family has new members.

This is a model of family structure commonly seen in Asia’s culture called “Four generations under the same roof”. Returning to the task, with a fairly limited area in terms of narrow width and difficult traffic for the elderly, the main traffic axis, the elevator, and the skylight staircase were put towards the end of the house, and each floor was added separate functions.

With a narrow land area, limited floor height and located in a small alley, in order to get an open priority space for greenery, instead of opening a large atrium, we created a small skylight to circulate air at the end of the house and create a visual effect for the intersection and the facade.

Taking advantage of the quiet alley, we have exploited the outdoor space to connect with the indoors, creating communication in and out as well as expanding the house space. The atrium and the outside space are connected by a cut-out steel bridge as well as a roof above the entrance. It is also a viewpoint, sitting here we can interact with the trees growing in the yard. We choose an osmanthus fragran, a precious tree with fragrant flowers, that grows especially slowly. Using just a tree alone, to us, is like watching a “space-time” tape recording the journey of generations associated with this house. That is the concept of “touch point” that we include in the design.

All trees on the upper floors are used as the outer skin of the house, which was combined with architectural surface based on the mathematical law of solid and hollow transitions through the house’s façade, creating an aesthetic feel and bringing privacy. The top floor is designed as a two-bedroom multipurpose apartment for a nuclear family (a social unit of two parents and their one to two children).

With the above organizational structure, the house time by time will be like a restructuring model, family members come and go through generations. This solution will improve the living environment for the owners and express the “touch point” concept of space-time people.