Thang House

“Thang house” is one of the latest projects realized in the “House for tree” series of residential projects.

Vietnam being known for being an agricultural country, and able to produce food even within its city centers sets the founding concept of this project.

“Thang House” is built in Da Nang, which is the third largest city of the country, Central of Vietnam. The client wished for a rural house which provided fresh air, surrounded by grassland and tropical green that remind him of the environment of his childhood. We divided the site in two parts, with one containing the living spaces, and the other conceived as a “green lung”. The “green lung” facing the living spaces provides filtered air, diffused light and the aroma of grass and flowers into the house. The green space lost with construction has been reborn as a rooftop orchard that protects the building from sunlight. There are nine boxes arranged on the roof garden with a gap between them filtering light into the circulation spaces. This not only contributes to greening the city, but also serves as a place for urban agriculture that provides fresh vegetables and fruits for the family on a daily basis.

In order to improve sustainability and to reduce running costs, rainwater is recycled by an automatic water supply system and circulated to the roof garden. We try to minimize energy consumption in order to be self-sufficient in both materials and energy.

“Thang House” is covered with tropical green throughout a year. This helps create a quiet and peaceful space for the family, and becomes one of the “green lungs” in this rapidly developing city.

-Site and context analysis :
“Thang House” is built in Da Nang, which is the third largest city of the country, located in Central Vietnam. The green area lost due to construction work was compensated by a fruit garden on roof top that gets sunlight. The roof garden included 9 tree boxes interspersed with gaps provide more greenery view under natural day & night light. This has not only contributed to the greening of the city but also created space for urban agriculture to serve daily fresh vegetable and fruit for the client's family. The perfect combination of farming with a panorama view of an emerging costal city would surely relieve a person from the burden of a hectic city life.
The house is mainly made of local building materials available from nearby sources, such as gray stone from Hoa Son quarry and bricks from Quang Nam province. In addition, bare concrete is an effective material in construction with current low construction technology in Vietnam and durable under a harsh local climate

The limitation of the house is to create a living space that both connects family members and can connect with nature. we solve the problem by, creating a rainforest above the roof with large tubs of trees, spaces connected by large strata, constantly connected spaces, a constant connection between the inside and the outside. As a result, those who live inside the house feel like living in the middle of the forest, there is a swimming pool that creates a microscope for the house.

-Description of project details:
The house comprises four main boxes - one big volume under the roof and three smaller inside the big one. These are extended and hanged over the garden to make space for bedroom and living room. While the big box is covered by grey stone for a deep and charming feeling of the common space, the small ones are covered by white brick for an enlightening and warm feeling of living space. People can travel through different spatial in-house atmosphere. The narrow roof gaps allow the entry of natural light subtly and sufficiently for interior space. It creates an effect playing with light through the void between three levels.
In addition, plants are important elements to fuse the landscape of the house and the surrounding nature. These plants provide natural shade, creating a micro-climate for the house.

To help the house operate more sustainably and economically, an automatic watering system recycles and circulates water from fish pond to the roof garden and vice versa, solar water heating and solar panel system installed on top produce energy for a family sized home. The design aims to make the building self-sufficient in green food production and to minimize energy consumption

-Significance of the project:
This location is located in Da Nang city. In the process of rapid urbanization, the lack of greenery in The cities of Vietnam creates many different urban problems: air pollution without purification, the city is not able to keep rainwater, there is not enough space to cool the streets and people become lazy to operate. It is formed as both a space to live and contribute to greening the urban landscape and improving the living environment by providing sustainable and environmentally friendly architecture.

Thang House is one of the buildings of the series "House for Trees", covered with tropical fruit trees that create a quiet, peaceful space for every family member and at the same time keep a green corner in the middle of this fast-growing city.

THANG HOUSE
Project Name: Thang House
Location: Da Nang, Vietnam
Completion Date: 2019
Site Area: 250 sqm
Gross Floor Area: 250 sqm
Number of Rooms: 4
Building Height: 11.5 m
Client/Owner: Le Van Thang
Architecture Firm: VTN Architects (Vo Trong Nghia Architects)
Principal Architect: Vo Trong Nghia
Main Contractor: Le Van Thang
Civil & Structural Engineer: Trung Son Co.
Landscape Architect: VTN Architects (Vo Trong Nghia Architects)

Principal Architects: Vo Trong Nghia
Design team: Le Phuong Uyen, Kosuke Nishijima