Built in an alley in Long Bien District, the Thao Tien House is named after the daughter of a young couple in Hanoi.
The owner wanted to build a discreet, private space but still be full of natural light and ventilation so that the daily life of the family did not feel constrained between the walls.
The architect used square ventilation bricks combined with glass tiles for the face of the house. This helps bring natural light into the house and and also adds more color to the white facade.
"The whole exterior of the house is like a layer of water bubbles that are refracting light," the architect said.
The glass tiles have different shades depending on the time of day. During the day, they will bring natural light from outside to the house. When it is dark, refraction will help reflect the light from inside to outside, creating a color effect for the glass tiles.
Separating the outer layer and the indoor space is a flexible glass wall that can be open and close easily.
The plants act as decoration and also as oxygen provider for the house.
The house has two separate entrances, one directly to the second floor and the other is to the garage.
The house has four floors. The first floor is for a garage and storage. The common living space, living room, and kitchen are on the second floor. The third floor has two bedrooms.
The back of the house has a loggia that connects the third and fourth floor, where the owner has planted more trees, creating green space between the bedrooms and bathrooms spaces.
The two bedrooms for parents and children are designed with two separate doors on both sides, but currently no partition wall in the middle.
Following the advice of the architect, the owner plans to add additional walls to separate the two bedrooms when their kid is grown and wants private space.
It took six months to design the house, a construction time of 1.5 years with a total cost of about VND3.2 billion ($136,000).
