LEANING HOUSE

Leaning House is a unique 4-level townhouse located at a typical 4mx25m site within a quiet residential area in Thu Dau Mot City, Binh Duong province, Vietnam. The North-facing site receives limited direct sunlight during the year while the rear of the site is exposed to the sun as well as South-East wind and has pleasant view to an adjacent landscape area. The design brief asked for a duality in terms of function: a one-bedroom cozy home for the middle-aged owner couple; and a group of three rental studios.

The design concept is inspired by a sunflower moving forward the sun. Taking advantage of the 25-meter length of the site, the building mass is divided into two sections with a vertical void in between. The ventilated void draws daylight and air into the heart of the house, creating a pleasant indoor environment. In addition, the upper floors are gradually shifted from the front toward the back to get more Southern sunlight and desirable views to the nearby landscape space. The shifted form also creates a series of day-lit stepping terraces on the North elevation and planted loggias on the South façade. Consequently, the concept of horizontal shifting creates an unconventional leaning built-form while engaging a dynamic spatial composition at the same time.

Instead of designing a conventional staircase which is inconveniently shared by the owners and renters, we proposed a pair of separated staircases: the first one starts at the communal courtyard and leads to the fully-equipped rental studios located on the second and third floors; and the second one connecting the living-dining-kitchen area on the ground level to the owners’ bedroom and library on the mezzanine. Besides, an iron-framed glass-block floor is placed in the middle of the leaning void to make a physical and symbolic divider between the private owner home below and the rental space above while daylight is still getting into the kitchen and dining room below. The owners enjoy the spacious verandah, which can be converted into an additional bedroom when needed, as well as the leafy backyard on the ground level while the people living upstairs can pleasantly share the rooftop garden with desirable view to the landscape.

Project Principal: Vinh Phuc Ta
Design Team: Anh Tuan Pham; Bao Loc Hoang; Kim Thoa Lu

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