Hasta La Ideas

Vietnamese practice K59 Atelier has designed its own architecture office and home for a family in Ho Chi Minh City, connecting two alleyways with an open and airy ground floor.

The four storey block, which contains a three-bedroom home along with office and workshop space for the architecture studio, has been designed around a tall, skinny concrete frame.

Spaces are divided by open voids and communal spaces that are designed to invite the site’s busy surroundings in rather than shutting them out.

K59 Atelier designed the block to be an evolution of the existing buildings in the local area, with an open ground floor space that people can use to get between two parallel alleys.

“We prefer adaption and self-change rather than resisting what is happening around us,” explained the architecture studio.

“Gaps and open volumes are the methods we used to link and split space. The house is divided in two by a big atrium, and the ground floor is empty to allow the flow of people and air between the two alleys.”

A central, skylit void cuts through all four floors of the home and is occupied by an industrial-feeling steel and wood stair.

This open space separates the more public office and worship areas that occupy the first and second floor spaces at the front of the home, from the private bedroom spaces at the rear.

Each space benefits from views inwards to the central void, and outwards to the street at either end of the home.

Small strips of garden space create a buffer area between the street and the interiors, and a large tree at the home’s centre grows up through the void.

“Living in a crowded and stuffy city doesn’t mean we have to disconnect and close the door,” said the architecture studio.

“On the contrary, we need flexibility and generosity in design.”

A material palette of rough blockwork, wood and steel complements the exposed concrete frame to create rough, flexible interiors, with sliding and concertina windows and doors, allowing spaces to be opened up to each other and the outdoors.

“The hollow structure helps the building to breathe, instead of long walls or fixed glazing. We believe this method will be the dialogue between people, nature and society.”

Externally, the concrete grid of the home’s structure can be clearly read, infilled with blockwork or with metal bars that filter in air and sunlight.

K59atelier recently completed a home in the suburbs of Ho Chi Minh City, with a giant terracotta tile roof that draws on the appearance of traditional Vietnamese houses.

Photography is courtesy of K59 Atelier.

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