In the northern mountainous provinces of Vietnam, there is a type of vernacular house called the Trinh Tuong, standing for over 100 years with rammed earth walls (a technique now known as pisé). Such walls are completely handmade by compressing earth into even and flat cubes, which allows houses to be constructed without steel reinforcement. […]
The name of this house refers to the majestic Pongour Falls in Vietnam, a naturally stepped waterfall with terraced cliffs, interspersed by a landscape of wild-growing shrubs and trees. During dry seasons, visitors can climb up the cliffs to marvel at its rocky expanse. “If Pongour represents a natural landscape that looks like an artificial […]
Read More… from The Falls by Akitephile: Recreating a natural marvel
This home for a young family of four exemplifies how “basic is best”, focusing on necessities when faced with constraints. Designed with a limited budget, and constructed remotely during the pandemic with local builders, the architects concentrated on key elements of residential buildings. “The basics are the organisation of daylight, natural ventilation, and creating functional […]
Read More… from Multi-functional basics: Binh Thuan House by MIA Design Studio
How does the architect balance their larger ecological/social responsibilities as stewards of the built environment with the client’s personal goals? This question is especially interesting in the context of private residential houses, because architects and owners have a more direct working relationship for such projects—no layers of bureaucracy or multiple stakeholders to deal with—and hence […]
RELATED: Private Houses, Public Good? An Architect’s Perspective Placed on a site wedged between a residential neighbourhood of an informal building fabric and a public beach used by fishermen from the same community, this building design attempts to morph socio-physical pressures from both sides: i.e., the fragmented spatial sprawl and the culture of everyday constructions […]
The architecture of Veil House seeks to have a larger social impact or, at least, the ambition to provide an alternative to closed-off gated developments. Ayutt and Associates design, the architects behind Veil House, revealed that the house was “designed not as a unicentric project that adds little value to the community, [but rather] a […]
It is already common for the single-house residential prototype to be sensitive to local climate and site in their designs, deploying suitably eco-friendly strategies that make sense to do so. For instance, the Tropical Chalet in Da Nang, Vietnam, is defined by its porous design—in form, massing and use of local bricks—that brings in the […]
Read More… from Status Quo: Tropical Chalet & The Terrace Mansion
In line with our ongoing design competition FuturArc Prize (FAP) 2023: Cross-Generational Architecture, we are highlighting projects along the theme for your inspiration. Click here to learn more about the brief! The hilly city of Rennes in France is known for its universities. Students and young adults make up a majority of its population—60 per […]
Read More… from Ascension Paysagère: Housing for a variety of income levels
This small two-storey, wood-frame house is tucked into a downtown residential neighbourhood in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The clients—a couple with minimalist taste and few superfluous possessions—wanted a private home on the compact lot, one that prioritised a spacious atmosphere over rooms that were physically large. The lot abuts the north side of a narrow road and […]
In December 2021, the catastrophic Typhoon Odette struck the island of Siargao in Philippines, claiming hundreds of lives and destroying buildings—affecting 99 per cent of the island’s population.1 Nation-wide, around 1.4 million homes were damaged, with around 360,000 structures completely destroyed.2 Through the Siargao Resettlement project initiated by the Municipality of Del Carmen, the Philippines-based […]
Read More… from Siargao Resettlement Project: Designing safe post-disaster homes
Louvres are a time-honoured element of architecture in the tropics, performing several functions related to light and optics. They filter out sun glare while allowing in natural daylight to reduce a space’s cooling load, and could allow cross-ventilation through the breathable gaps. Depending on their angle, louvres can also shield the interior against outside eyes. […]
This project is a ‘tube house’—an extremely narrow, elongated dwelling going up several storeys above ground—typical of dwellings in Hanoi City, the capital of Vietnam. It faces all of the problems brought about by the density of the city: spanning only 4.2 metres in width and 35 metres in length, while being tightly sandwiched between […]
Read More… from CH House: A ‘tube house’ to work, live and gather in
