HOUSE OF THE WEEK: Binh Thanh House by Vo Trong Nghia Architects and Sanuki Nishizawa

Binh Thanh House is the first property featured in The Modern Houseblog designed by Vietnamese architects and located in Vietnam. It is therefore interesting to see how its aesthetic and programme differs across nations and how its interpretation fit within a wider appreciation and progression of architecture. And this six-storey townhouse in Ho Chi Minh City – designed by Vo Trong Nghia Architectsand Sanuki Nishizawa – does contain many defining features. Firstly, it has been designed to accommodate three generations of the same family under the same roof and to do so has a facade that is alternately pushed back and brought forward to create multiple separate living spaces and terraced gardens. Within this programme is also the concept to accommodate two different lifestyles in a tropical climate; a modern and well-tempered lifestyle with mechanical equipments such as air-conditioners, and a natural and traditional lifestyle, utilising natural lighting and ventilation with water and greenery. Integral to this effect is the concrete pattern block cladding which while providing a mechanical function also recalls a former popular aesthetic in Vietnam and give the brand new building a slightly aged Modernist style, after for example Le Corbusier’s Villa Shodan.

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