Vietnam’s open-concept house invites nature in

Just like Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City is a tightly compressed urban city where when trying to find and create more green spaces, you have to look upwards, rather than outwards. The Binh House by Vo Trong Nghia Architects is a minimalist looking contemporary dwelling with a design that reflects this. Its appearance, with an asymmetrical, angular form composed of distinct planes and intersecting volumes, eschews from the more historical stilt houses of Vietnam. Verdant and lush, interspersed greenery peeks out of “cut-outs” in the structure, softening the brutalist concrete and stone facade. The pockets of green within the home also offer space to grow fruits and vegetables, retaining a sense of connection to the natural world. Housing a family of three generations, the design of the Binh House allows its residents both social and private realms to interact and recharge. Flexibility is seen in the living room, dining room, bedrooms and studies ­– which can be opened up for more interactive settings or closed off for more privacy. A sticky tropical climate calls for airy living spaces, and it was important for the family that the house would be economical to maintain. As such, the house was designed to be as open as possible, to promote natural lighting and ventilation, while blurring the exterior-interior boundaries and offering views of the sky.

See more beautiful spaces designed by Vo Trong Nghia Architects here.