A21Studio Saigon House Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam

The project of a private house for a large family embarked upon by the Vietnamese architectural practice A21Studio of architect Hiep Hoa Nguyen is a tribute to the old city of Saigon. In actual fact, architect Hiep Hoa Nguyen pointed out that, for the city of Saigon, what is referred to now as "development" actually represents the progressive destruction of local architectural values over time. The inspiration for the Saigon House was found in the Van Duong Phu house of Vuong Hong Sen, an archaeologist, famous collector of antiquities and great expert on Vietnam, who left his antiquities to the State so that they could be exhibited in a museum dedicated to his memory.

The long, narrow shape of the lot had an impact on the vertical development of the house. The various rooms were erected as small spaces, built and suspended one above the other, connected by stairs and platforms and centred around an internal courtyard.
The external grey façade masks the interiors and their colourful and vibrant variety of sizes and elements. As a testimony to an important past, recycled materials such as tiles, doors, windows and floors were used for the Saigon House, and are now part of the new structure.

The project won the Archmarathon Award 2016 for the Private Housing category.

(Agnese Bifulco)

Entwurf: A21Studio
Ort: Hồ Chí Minh city, Vietnam

Images courtesy of Archmarathon awards: photos courtesy of Quang Tran and Hiroyuki Oki, design courtesy of A21Studio

www.a21studio.com.vn
www.archmarathon.com