Thao Dien House

Thao Dien House
© Hiroyuki Oki
Thao Dien House
© Hiroyuki Oki

THAO DIEN HOUSE

MM++ Architects

ARCHITECTS
MM++ Architects

PHOTOGRAPHS
Hiroyuki Oki

AREA
280 m²

YEAR
2014

LOCATION
Thảo Điền, Vietnam

CATAGORY
Houses

Text description provided by architect.

This project is a renovation of a villa located in east suburb of Ho Chi Minh City, District 2.

Thao Dien House
© Hiroyuki Oki
Thao Dien House
© Hiroyuki Oki

The intention was to turn the existing construction, a “pastiche” art deco, into a contemporary villa with clean lines and open spaces while keeping the entire existing concrete structure.

The cost saving, which represents around 30% of total construction cost and the time saving on the construction schedule was a huge benefit for the client, an investor.

Thao Dien House
© Hiroyuki Oki
Thao Dien House
© Hiroyuki Oki

Therefore, with balancing the cost, it was possible to add new elements to the construction.

The building has been reduced to his most minimal expression, a white cubic shape with two vertical vegetal walls added on the front and back of the house in order to bring privacy for the bedrooms and allowing large openings for natural ventilation without crossing views.

Thao Dien House
© Hiroyuki Oki
Thao Dien House
© Hiroyuki Oki

The vertical garden “extends” the surrounding vegetation onto the walls and makes the house “disappearing” into the landscape.

It creates a strong visual connection between the house and the garden and gives an identity to the place.

Thao Dien House
© Hiroyuki Oki
Thao Dien House
© Hiroyuki Oki

On the ground floor, living room, dining and kitchen are merged in one unique space fully open to the outdoor on three sides, bringing the garden inside the house.

Swimming pool and decking have been reshaped as an extension of the interior space.

Thao Dien House
© Hiroyuki Oki
Thao Dien House
© Hiroyuki Oki

The staircase has been relocated for a better distribution of the first floor and creates the main feature of the living room with a floating steps design.


On the first floor, three bedrooms instead of the four existing in order to gain space to create a real master suite.

Thao Dien House
© Hiroyuki Oki
Thao Dien House
© Hiroyuki Oki

Starting from a poor existing space quality, enclosed, with no connection to the garden, this project is an experiment to demonstrate how it can be versatile and fun to “play” with an existing structure and to turn the construction into a radically different layout and design, revealing better spaces, adding value to the place and proposing a life style closer to nature.


Thao Dien House
© Hiroyuki Oki
Thao Dien House
© Hiroyuki Oki
Thao Dien House
© Hiroyuki Oki
Thao Dien House
© Hiroyuki Oki


Thao Dien House
© Hiroyuki Oki
Thao Dien House
© Hiroyuki Oki
Thao Dien House
© Hiroyuki Oki


Thao Dien House
Elevation
Thao Dien House
Elevation
Thao Dien House
Elevation
Thao Dien House
Elevation


Thao Dien House
Ground Floor Plan
Thao Dien House
Ground Floor Plan
Thao Dien House
First Floor Plan
Thao Dien House
First Floor Plan