The 142-square-meter house in the Mekong Delta's Soc Trang Province belongs to a middle-aged couple.
The old house was transformed into this modern home. The homeowner had asked for a minimalist, cavernous dwelling with plenty of room to grow plants and keep fish.
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The building's glass bricks create a wavelike pattern on the exterior, evoking the feeling of Mekong Delta rivers and making the single-story home look like it's wearing a shimmering top. Even while they let in a lot of natural light, the glass tiles used in this home's open floor plan also provide a high level of privacy. |
The absence of natural light is a major issue due to the building's small width of 4.6 meters. The architect resolved this issue by interweaving four skylights into the living area, connecting the building's front and back courtyards for maximum natural light and ventilation.
In addition to providing fresh air, the small gardens placed beneath each skylight help homeowners relax and keep their spirits up.
The house's aesthetic was influenced by that of the Pixar film Coco. The film capitalizes on the universality of the human experience by exploring the bonds of family across time and space.
The architect hopes to use this idea to inspire a brand-new perception of space by bridging the gap between the physical and digital space through the use of mirrors in an art installation.
Having mirrors strategically placed around the house provides the illusion of more space than there actually is. This effect, seen from a certain vantage point, will reveal an infinite horizon.
Some of the house's features, like the window arches in the second-floor reading space, are only partially realized before they collide with their own reflections in the mirror and take on their final, fully realized shape.
A narrow-width townhouse can benefit from this strategy since it frees up space, creating the impression and the concept of a larger home.
The architect has consolidated the shared kitchen and dining area into a single open space in the main living area.
In interior design, this is the link between two rooms that helps bring the spaces together and makes better use of the available floor area. This allows the kitchen to grow as needed.
When entertaining a small number of people, or simply hosting a larger dinner party, the owners can expand the six-seat dining set to a larger table that can accommodate up to 18 people.
The home has a tranquil spot under a skylight, surrounded by lush vegetation and a Koi pond.
Due of the land's small size and the owner's need to raise Koi fish, the architect creatively combined the two uses into one.
In addition to serving as a landscape element, the tank doubles as a skylight, moderating the inside temperature and humidity.
Gravel atop the glass roof helps diffuse the light coming in, creating a lovely and ample ambiance inside the home.
The architect also uses glass brick windows in more private spaces, like the second-floor bedroom/office.
Aside from enabling natural light and breezes into the property, the window also provides a nice vantage point for the homeowner to gaze down into the yard below. Even with the lights on, the space is peaceful and unobtrusive.
The main bedroom is located on the ground floor, and features a little garden just below the atrium, allowing for direct access to the light and breezes outside.
The glass restroom partition in the center of the room gives the impression of extra space. The layer of glass is hermetically sealed, so no splashes of water may enter.
