Blog : Brick House

Nha Be House: A Brick Home Infused with Memories of the Good Old Days

Nha Be House: A Brick Home Infused with Memories of the Good Old Days

/ Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam /

/ Story: Wuthikorn Sut / English version: Bob Pitakwong /

/ Photographs: Hiroyuki Oki /

Here’s a beautiful good-sized home with exposed brick walls in subdued orange. It sits peacefully nestled among lush greenery in Nha Be, a suburban district of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. By design, it’s the perfect home size for four sisters who recently decided to come home to care for their aging Mom. A nice place for their family reunion, the brick home is filled with real warmth and memories growing up together back in the day.

Brick Home NHA BE HOUSE


Connecting Home and Garden

Designed to fit a long piece of property, the rectangular house plan holds five bedrooms plus a roomy communal space that’s the heart of family life. The architect puts the face of the building closer to the road which passes in front of the house leaving just enough room for a small front yard.

Like so, it allows a huge space for the backyard garden devoted to trees and shrubs and an outdoor sitting room.

Brick Home NHA BE HOUSE

Inside, the spacious room shared by all family members lies front and center on the house plan. To bring fresh air into the home, all the rooms are connected to the outdoor spaces in front and back of the building.

Brick Home NHA BE HOUSE
The front yard holds a small garden that’s an important factor in curb appeal. The interior is comfortable thanks to double-wall construction. The perforated outer shell performs a dual function protecting the house from heat and glare and serving as privacy screens.

Overall, it’s a design that lets the earthy, woody scents of nature permeate the air. Up front, healthy green foliage transforms the communal area into a calm, pleasant place enlivened by plenty of natural light streaming in through generous openings in the walls.

Brick Home NHA BE HOUSE
Open-concept design and floating furniture ideas make the communal room feel spacious, light and airy.
NHA BE HOUSE
An opening at the center of the house plan connects the first floor with the second, resulting in good visual and spatial continuity. The absence of risers between the treads of the staircase makes the room feel spacious and well-ventilated.

On one side of the floor plan, a flight of stairs connects to the second floor and continues to the room just below the roof that acts as a buffer against the sun and heat. The absence of vertical risers between the treads of the staircase creates visual and spatial continuity, plus good air flow in the interior.

Overhead, a shaft of sunlight streams through the rooftop skylight making the home feel bright and airy all day.

NHA BE HOUSE
A semi-circle skylight lets sunlight shine through turning the home into a well-lighted place.

Brick the Material of Choice

The two-and-a-half-story brick home, including the room under the roof, is built almost entirely of bricks for the best indoor climate. Needless to say it’s designed for healthy living.

The first floor is a perfect example of communal space with plenty of room for a generous sitting area, dining room and kitchen. It speaks volumes for a culture of caring and sharing that’s the essence of humanity.

Brick Home NHA BE HOUSE
A patch of lush greenery in the front yard makes the sitting room feel warm and invitingly comfortable.

NHA BE HOUSE

For practical reason, Mom’s open-concept bedroom is on the first floor. It’s protected from the sun’s harmful rays by perforated brick walls that form the outer shell. The inside is clear of anything that might be a tripping hazard.

NHA BE HOUSE
The perforated brick wall forms the outer shell protecting Mom’s open-concept bedroom.

Brick Home NHA BE HOUSE

Meanwhile, the four sisters each have their own bedrooms on the second floor. They are equal-sized rooms connected by a balcony overlooking the communal space on the first floor. At the very top, the space under the roof becomes a devotional room for traditional veneration of the family’s ancestors. It has a quiet sitting area with a view of the surrounding landscape.

NHA BE HOUSE
The bedrooms on the second floor are plain and simple. Windows on the interior walls bring back that peaceful easy feeling.
NHA BE HOUSE
The top floor under the roof contains a devotional room for the veneration of family ancestors

Taken as a whole, the natural environment is pristine thanks to an irrigation canal that runs past the back of the property. Both sides of the waterway are covered in greenery growing luxuriantly in the wild. It’s easy to get why the architect puts in a backyard garden here, a clever hack that blends perfectly into the lush landscape.

Brick Home NHA BE HOUSE

The house is built strong using concrete frame and concrete floor slab construction, while the external envelop is made of bricks in assorted orange hues fired the old-fashioned way. Perforated brick facades enable interior spaces to benefit from natural daylight. Gaps between bricks in the house’s exterior walls admit light and fresh outdoor air into the home.

A material of choice, the vintage style bricks can absorb humidity from the nearby water body, which translates into interior thermal comfort all year round. Plus, they effectively filter out dust and pollution in the air.

The siting of the house in relation to others in the community. — Courtesy of Tropical Space

Apart from protecting against heat and glare, brick walls add a touch of timeless elegance to the home. Perforated facades double as privacy screens that prevent people from looking in and keep the home cool without air conditioning.

The light that shines through is more diffuse, while holes in the brick walls act as engine that drives natural ventilation. Plus, brick walls require little to no maintenance, and they look like new after many years later.

First Floor Plan — Courtesy of Tropical Space
Second Floor Plan — Courtesy of Tropical Space
Attic Floor Plan — Courtesy of Tropical Space
In cross section, a side elevation drawing shows the feel and functionality of the house plan. — Courtesy of Tropical Space

Backyard Garden Made for Relaxation

One of the house’s outstanding features is the backyard garden with an outdoor circular bench capable of seating several people. Built of bricks in subdued shades of orange, it’s the family’s favorite meeting place in the morning and evening.

Because it’s round, it creates more space for family members to come together face-to-face, talk together, walk together strengthening the bonds of sisterhood and relationships made in heaven.

NHA BE HOUSE
An outdoor circular bench made of bricks in assorted orange hues adorns the backyard garden designed for face-to-face family gatherings in the morning and evening.

Brick Home NHA BE HOUSE

Brick Home NHA BE HOUSE
An aerial view shows the brick house in subdued shades of orange nestled among lush greenery with a tree lined irrigation canal in the backdrop, a healthy ecosystem that helps cool the environment.

Architect: Tropical Space (tropicalspaceil.com)


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Urban Courtyard House for an Extended Family

Urban Courtyard House for an Extended Family

/ Bangkok, Thailand /

/ Story: Sarayut / English version: Bob Pitakwong /

/ Photographs: Ritthirong /

Let’s say you’re looking for a modern courtyard house plan to get inspired. Here’s one nestled in the heart of Bangkok’s downtown that’s built to accommodate three generations living in one household. Thoughtfully designed, it’s capable of answering the family’s lifestyle needs, plus it’s easy to maintain thanks to an uncomplicated layout. What looks opaque from the outside is compensated by a bright and airy center courtyard that’s the heart of family life. Its story is inscribed as part of the building’s decorative features.

Urban Courtyard House for an Extended Family Urban Courtyard House for an Extended FamilyWhen a design team from the Atelier of Architects Co., Ltd. was tasked with creating a new home for eight people including not just parents and their children, but also grandparents, the first things they thought of were safety features, comfortable living spaces, privacy protection, and a peaceful environment for all family members. Yes. That’s exactly what they had in mind.

Urban Courtyard House for an Extended Family

The two-story, six-bedroom house plan may seem a bit crowded for 130 square wa of land (520 sq. m.), but the overall effect is delightful. It’s neatly planned to ensure the proper space utilization; every available space is used in an effective way.

Homeowner Salyawate Prasertwitayakarn, himself an architect, put it this way:

“If the house was positioned at the center as is usually the case, then there wouldn’t be any room left for a yard, let alone a small piece of ground for trees.

“The house is adjacent to vacant lots that will see large construction projects coming up before long. So the only way forward is to build a U-shaped courtyard home enclosed by the solid external envelope. The center courtyard has a view of the apartment building that’s the family’s business.

“Although the courtyard lies facing west, it’s protected from the sun and heat by the adjacent five-story apartment building. The result is a cool, small outdoor room for little children to run and play.

“To protect family privacy, vertical concrete fins and a full array of plantation blinds are installed along the façade facing the apartment building.”

Urban Courtyard House for an Extended Family Urban Courtyard House for an Extended FamilyUrban Courtyard House for an Extended Family Urban Courtyard House for an Extended Family Urban Courtyard House for an Extended Family

Taken as a whole, it’s simple clean design that gives this new courtyard house its character.

Among other things, its distinctive features include an array of transom windows that add more natural light to the home. Its modern and fresh interior with shades of gray bespeaks a clean, clear and uncluttered layout, while exposed brick walls add timeless elegance to the peaceful ambience.

The patio adjoining the house is covered in gray pea gravel that’s comfortable underfoot and easy to maintain. It’s a simple hardscaping material that expresses rich and subtle meanings. On this matter, Salyawate explained:

“I want to get the message across, something that internalizes values and what’s important in life for everyone in the family.

“The meaning of life is expressed through the work of art executed directly on the brick wall by the entryway. It takes the form of the Thai letter “p” that’s the initial of the family’s three sons — Pahda, Pheem, and Pinyada.

“Precisely, it’s a reminder that this place is made for them.”

Urban Courtyard House for an Extended Family Urban Courtyard House for an Extended Family

To get people from one floor to the next, a spiral staircase stands surrounded by creative bookshelf design. It’s one of the most frequented area of the house where a bronze plaque is fixed to the floor as a reminder of when the house was built and completed.

The outlines of the couple’s hands and those of their children are inscribed on it. Small hand images indicate the family moved in when the kids were little.

Visiting house guests can tell right away the home is perfectly cozy without elaborate décor. But for the eight people who live here, it’s a special place made for living a simple life, one full of rest and room to pursue their dreams.


Architect: The Atelier of Architects Co., Ltd by Salyawate Prasertwitayakarn
Owner: Salyawate, Piyasuda Prasertwitayakarn


Kampong House: The Allure of Indonesia’s Urban Village Life

Kampong House: The Allure of Indonesia’s Urban Village Life

/ Cimahi, Indonesia /

/ Story: Nawapat Dusdul / English version: Bob Pitakwong /

/ Photographs: Mario Wibowo /

For an Indonesian family, life in an urban kampong is a beautiful journey. Aquino Krishadi and Elis Rosmiati lived for some time in a medium-density urban village. The positive feeling that they cherished was brought with them as they moved into their new home in Cimahi, roughly ten minutes’ drive from Bandung Metropolis in West Java.

Kampong House

The chic new home is designed by Ismail Solehudin, of Ismail Solehudin Architecture. Reflecting the Indonesian kampong experience, the siding materials that enclose and divide interior living spaces are made of rigid PVC sheets mixed with brick masonry. It’s a creative way to build, plus it provides excellent toughness and good moisture resistance.

The term kampongs, also spelled kampoongs, or kampungs, refers to traditional villages with stilt houses in the Indonesian archipelago.

Made for living green in a small space, the new dwelling is aptly named “Kampoong-In-House” for its character and real certain appeal of village life that provides the architect and the family with invaluable inspiration. In essence it’s an intriguing combination of features with rooms and a network of passageways beautifully fitting together in a house plan.

Kampong House

Sharing his points of view, Ismail said that the design was based on the client’s experience from having lived in an urban village, plus their interest in a sustainable way of living, albeit in a small space.

To comply with the family’s wishes, he translated their ideas into a coherent distribution of masses and expertly crafted a house plan capable of bringing many benefits, including convenient and safe exterior and interior traffic patterns.

Kampong House

Kampong House

Kampong House

The front of the house features an eclectic mix of items and decorations ubiquitous among urban kampongs across Indonesia. They include different textures and materials that come together in an untidy way like a picture of a village scene.

Among them are ornaments such as window box planters, skylights, garden areas and unfilled spaces in the wall that drive natural ventilation keeping the interior living spaces cool and comfortable.

Kampong House

Kampong House

Commenting on a hybrid of brickwork and PVC sheets, Ismail said that PVC is strong and durable, which explains why it’s one of the most widely used thermoplastic polymers worldwide. Here, it’s used on the façade to protect against damage from too much sun and rain.

Meantime, exposed brick walls provide great opportunities to experiment with various textures and patterns. The break in the wall allows fresh air to enter and circulate inside, a perfect solution for houses in a Tropical climate.

Kampong House

Kampong House

Walk in the door, and you come to an open concept common area with greenery that’s the essential part of the house plan. It conveniently connects to a plant-filled living room, kitchen, and a large backyard garden.

In all places, unfilled spaces in the wall and green areas create microclimates that differ from those in the surrounding areas. Plus, they allow natural light and improve air circulation at the same time.

Kampong House

Kampong House

Kampong House

Kampong House

Kampong House

Bedrooms are slightly hidden from view, cocooned in a comfortable location. They are reachable via an interior corridor lined with functions that serve practical purposes, among them a bar table and a few bookshelves.

Kampong House

Kampong House

All things considered, it’s a chic contemporary home thoughtfully devised to promote social interactions among family members without intruding into the lives of one another. At the same time, it’s made for a lifestyle that tries to reduce the use of natural resources.

The message is clear. Living sustainably in an urban kampong is more than just helping the environment. It’s also a way to bring people back in time and experience the Indonesian way of life like it’s always been.

Kampong House

Kampong House

Kampong House

Kampong House

The House Plan & Section Courtesy of Ismail Solehudin Architecture


Architect: Ismail Solehudin of Ismail Solehudin Architecture


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Termitary House: Good Sunshine, Fresh Air, and Brick Walls

Termitary House: Good Sunshine, Fresh Air, and Brick Walls

/ Da Nang, Vietnam /

/ Story: Patsiri Chotpongsun / English version: Bob Pitakwong /

/ Photographs: Hiroyuki Oki /

The fact that the house is made of clay has enabled brick buildings to make deep connections with the natural world in so many ways. More importantly, the structures built of small rectangular blocks derived from nature are endowed with the power of storytelling that provides a window on vernacular culture, the environment, and the way of life native to a locality. These qualities are manifested in outstanding works of architecture, the likes of which are obvious at this house in Da Nang, Vietnam that uses brick walls as the main building element.

Good Sunshine, Fresh Air, and Plenty of Room to Breathe
The hall at the center of the house plan is spacious and well-lit, thanks to the skylight positioned directly above it. It has room for plenty of functions ranging from a sitting parlor to dining room to pantry. The natural light cycle interacts with the interior spaces, resulting in different color renditions as day goes by.

It all started with a family’s desire to renovate their home on a budget. A team of architects from the design firm Tropical Space soon came up with an idea inspired by termite mounds.

They knew that the small soft-bodied insects built their homes by cementing masses of earth with saliva. Amazingly, they are quite capable of withstanding hot and humid climates for long stretches of time.

For this reason, the architects designed the house walls to be built of bricks placed on top of each other with a break between blocks to create little ventilation holes that allow in light and drive natural air circulation.

Designed for tropical living, the 140-square-meter box-shaped house wrapped in perforate brick walls is going by the name “Termitary House.

To protect from heat, the team of architects put in perfectly opaque walls on the sides exposed to intense sunlight.

Meantime, the sides with less exposure to bright light had small openings built into the walls to promote air circulation, resulting in thermal comfort in the interior living spaces year round.

The same applied to the brick house façade that’s its most outstanding feature. The vertical flat structure was made of bricks fired the old-fashion way and laid with air holes at intervals all the way across.

The result is a breathing wall that allows in just enough light and a fresh supply of air. The light and spacious atmosphere lends a modern air to the home designed to be free from dust in summer and safe from inclement weather during the monsoon season.

More importantly, it’s about privacy that comes with unique design.

Situated on a rectangular plot with narrow frontage, this box shaped house is enclosed by brick walls with ventilation holes built into them. They serve multiple functions as privacy screens, breathing walls, and means of admitting daylight into the interior.

It’s a house plan that prioritizes thermal comfort as well as functions. The staircase, storage room and bath are strategically placed on the east and west sides.

During daytime hours they double as a layer of insulation to keep sunlight heat out. The hall at the center is spacious and well-lit, thanks to the skylight positioned directly above it.

The area offers plenty of space for a sitting parlor, pantry and dining area as well as easy access to the bedroom, bathroom and small reading room on the mezzanine.

Open concept design paired with perforated room dividers contributes to visual continuity that enables family to stay connected, happy and warm even on a busy day.

A small corridor lies between the outer brick wall and the inner wall decorated with transparent glass. Glass walls maximize natural light while protecting the interior living spaces from rain.

Well thought-out design adds privacy to the bedroom on the mezzanine. Opaque walls paired with perforated brick walls and skylight in the ceiling add a new dimension to design. Meantime, glass paneling for the wall is installed to protect the room from dust and inclement weather.

Breathing walls offer several advantages. By design, countless small holes in them let a moderate amount of light shine through, increase air circulation, and reduce interior temperatures to a comfortable level.

Upfront, the vertical brick structure provides an awesome privacy screen that’s energy efficient and allows people inside to see out. Made from inexpensive local materials, it comes alive when good sunshine creates movement and a shadow play on the surface.

And the show goes on day and night, thanks to the form, color and texture that give the brick wall its character.

The house walls are built of bricks placed on top of each other with a break between blocks to create countless small holes that allow light and air to enter and circulate freely. The resulting perforate shell contributes to physical ease and well-being in the tropical style home.

The night is aglow under the beams of electric light shining through the perforate shell. It’s a phenomenon that conjures up the image of a beautiful lantern symbolic of a joyful celebration.


This story is an excerpt from Modern Vernacular Homes Special Issue: Happiness Matters. (Available here in Thai and English)

Modern Vernacular Homes
This home is one of 13 Special Homes from the Modern Vernacular Homes: Happiness Matters, Thai and English by the Baan Lae Suan Team. The issue is available now! If you are interested, please contact us. >> www.facebook.com/messages/t/Baanlaesuanbooks


Architect: Tropical Space by Tran Thi Ngu Ngon and Nguyen Hai Long


10 Modern Tropical Homes for Inspiration

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Living ASEAN presents 10 modern tropical homes for an inspiration as we celebrate another year ending and a new one beginning. They focus on a beautiful blend of indoor and outdoor spaces that translates into stylish patios, cool verandas and courtyard tropical gardens. Plus, plenty of ideas to make your yard lush!

 

PEACEFUL, SHADY NORTHEASTERN THAI HOUSE


MODERN HOUSE AMID A COUNTRY ATMOSPHERE


 

VIETNAM TRADITIONAL BRICK HOUSE


 

QUIET INTERACTION OF NATURE AND ARCHITECTURE


 

LOCAL THAI HOUSE IN A JAPANESE TRADITION


 

LOCAL, WITH A MODERN FLAVOR


 

A WHITE HOUSE MATCHING MODERN ARCHITECTURE TO ITS ENVIRONMENT


 

CANALSIDE “GARDEN HOUSE” FOR HAPPINESS


MODERN HOUSE WITH A THAI FLAVOR


SINGLE-STOREY HOUSE ON A FOUNDATION OF SIMPLICITY

 


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Long An House: A Charming Brick House in Vietnam

Long An House: A Charming Brick House in Vietnam

/ Long An, Vietnam /

/ Story: Nawapat, Nipapat Dusdul / English version: Bob Pitakwong /

/ Photographs: Hiroyuki Oki /

An attractive brick house in Vietnam’s Long An Province is the pride and joy of Tropical Space, a homegrown design studio specializing in mixing traditional Vietnamese brickwork with modern architectural styles.

Vietnam Traditional Brick House

Inspired by the beauty and durability of brick, Tropical Space recently built the innovatively designed home on 750 square meters of land.

The sloped roof house plan combines three separate living spaces into one modern home with strong architectural language.

Vietnam Traditional Brick House

Vietnam Traditional Brick House

The result is a beautiful blend of the traditional and the modern. There’s something that never changes. Brick is used here because it’s inherently a Vietnamese material used in building construction, and it’s indigenous to the area.

At the same time, with a deep understanding of Vietnamese culture and climate, the architects at Tropical Space are committed to the use of environment-friendly building practices and sustainable material selection.

Vietnam Traditional Brick House

Vietnam Traditional Brick House

The brick house in Long An is designed for a warm and humid climate. To maximize ventilation efficiency, the architects divide the sloped roof into two parts and put a courtyard in between them.

There are corridors connecting the two parts of the house. Meantime, perforated brick walls allow breezes to pass through and around the building.

Traditional Vietnamese design provides continuous functional spaces that stretch from the front to the back of the house. Boundaries between spaces are marked by the different quantity of light that varies from place to place.

It’s a brilliant layout that keeps the interior living spaces cool all year round without air conditioning.

Vietnam Traditional Brick House

Vietnam Traditional Brick House

The front yard floor is covered in brick pavers with holes capable of draining storm water fast and keeping ambient temperatures cool in summer. Next to the yard is a buffer space designed to create a beautifully transitional room from the yard to the living room, dining room and bedroom.

The kitchen is on the north side of the house plan along with other functions. It’s ideal for traditional Vietnamese cooking and offers very relaxing family rooms.

There are two bedrooms on the mezzanine with plenty of space for a quiet reading room and relaxation. The architects also put in stairs on both sides to easily connect with other areas inside and outside of the house.

This not only gives the children a play area, but also enables them to move around unhindered by solid walls.

Vietnam Traditional Brick House

Vietnam Traditional Brick House

Vietnam Traditional Brick House

 


Architect: Tropical Space


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THAILAND // A BAMBOO HOUSE EMBRACED BY NATURE

A bamboo house with contemporary appeal sits immersed in its natural surroundings. The home that’s also a medical clinic belongs to Nopharat Pitchanthuk MD, and his wife Kanyapak Silawatanawongse. Without question, his interest in the natural therapeutic concept is expressed in the warm, inviting atmosphere of the home office. The orthopedic doctor provides specialized care for the musculoskeletal system in the comfort of a peaceful country setting.

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Concrete Block House
THAILAND // CONCRETE BLOCK HOUSE

Intanon Chantip, INchan atelier architect and owner of this HUAMARK 09 building, designed it to test theories he’d arrived at through intense study and experience. He wanted the architecture to tell its own story through the charm of materials that change over time. Intanon and his wife Tharisra Chantip bought this a 30-year-old, 80 square wa (.8 acres) property in the Hua Mark district, demolishing the old house to erect a new four-storey mixed-use building with usable space of 490 square meters and combine office, residence, and art studio.

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VIETNAM // MODERN TROPICAL HOUSE IN HO CHI MINH CITY

The architecture of this modern tropical house in Ho Chi Minh City is perfectly suited to the hot, humid climate, with an imaginative counterpoint of plants, greenery, and airy openings keeping it shady and pleasant inside and out.

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Waterside Home
THAILAND // WATERSIDE HOME

This waterside tropical house brings back memories of Thai life as it was along Khlong Samsen in bygone times. From outside it looks straightforward and contemporary, but inside is a fascinating mix of antiques from the owners’ collections.

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Wooden Thai House in the Lanna Tradition
THAILAND // WOODEN THAI HOUSE IN THE LANNA TRADITION

This Lanna Thai house of wood is built based on ancient local traditions. It has a simple, relaxed, and open look. Natural breezes blow all day long through its exquisite form, full of the charm of conservation-friendly Lanna craftsmanship.

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trc12
MALAYSIA // BOX-SHAPED HOUSE WITH THE TEXTURE OF MEMORY

This box-shaped house uses architecture, architectural elements, and coordinated interior design to tell stories of the present and the past. The house is located in the Petalang Jaya district of Selangor, Malaysia. This is a district of single homes, but with little space to put up a large house. Still, architect Dr. Tan Loke Mun rose to the challenge of house owner Kenneth Koh and tore down the former structure here to build a new 3-storey home in its place.

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Living with Cats in a Beautiful House
MALAYSIA // LIVING WITH CATS IN A BEAUTIFUL HOUSE

Ever wonder why this is a dream house for kind pet owners and their feline companions?.

“I live with my wife and our seven cats in this house,” said Chan Mun Inn of Design Collective Architects (DCA). “There used to be only four, but I adopted more cats. So I ended up with seven of them. They were the reason that we left our old apartment and built a new home in the suburb.”

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Brick house For a Tropical Climate
VIETNAM // BRICK HOUSE FOR A TROPICAL CLIMATE

This rectangular brick home in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City is designed for “hot and humid,” open to natural light and cool from air currents constantly streaming in and out through the bricks. Mr. Tung Do and Mrs. Lien Dinh, the owners here, are newlyweds who wanted a small house with a straightforward design for pleasant living. They had seen Tropical Space’s “Termitary House,” which won, among others, a 2016 Brick Award, and admired its form and design so much that – even with their limited budget – they engaged the Company to design and build their own home.

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Box-Shaped House with a Tropical Style Garden
THAILAND // BOX-SHAPED HOUSE WITH A TROPICAL STYLE GARDEN

Box-shaped design highlights a perfect blend of form and function, plus an exotic Tropical style garden. The result: A lovable livable home with a panoramic view from the bedroom.

“This house was not built to be photogenic,” said Patchara Wongboonsin, architect at POAR, when asked about his outstanding design. The 350-square-meter, modern cube-shaped house took two years in the making.

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Modern House in a Forest Setting
THAILAND // MODERN HOUSE IN A FOREST SETTING

The architect uses clever techniques to make this modern house look like it’s crafted entirely of wood. When her family wanted to build a new house in Thailand’s Northeast, Kanika Ratanapridakul was assigned the task of project architect. It was the first time she had to work directly with local builders and suppliers. Things didn’t go as smooth as planned, but the mission was accomplished – eventually. The key to success lay in being a bit more flexible to ensure things got done right and on schedule.

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/// ASEAN ///

 

 

Link : http://livingasean.com/house/brick-house-for-a-tropical-climate/


 

 

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Link : http://livingasean.com/house/classy-studio-home/


 

Link : http://livingasean.com/house/brick-house-cherished-two-generations/


 

 

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A Rectangular Brick Home For a Tropical Climate

A Rectangular Brick Home For a Tropical Climate

/ Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam /

/ Story: Wuthikorn Suthiapa / English version: Bob Pitakwong /

/ Photographs: Tanakitt Khum-on /

This rectangular brick home in Ho Chi Minh City is designed for a “hot and humid” climate. It’s open to natural light with cool air currents constantly streaming in and out through the brick walls. The homeowners Mr. Tung Do and Mrs. Lien Dinh are newlyweds who wanted a small house with straightforward design for pleasant living. They have found the home of their dreams.

Brick doesn’t retain heat, but insulates against it, and its porosity helps retain early morning moisture which evaporates to cool at midday.

Work corner next to the food preparation section is screened off for privacy.

The owner had seen Tropical Space’s “Termitary House,” which won, among others, a 2016 Brick Award, and admired its form and design so much that – even with their limited budget – they engaged the Company to design and build their own home.

Ms. Tran Thi Ngu Ngon and Mr. Nguyen Hai Long of Tropical Space said:

“We want to build living spaces that connect people with nature, natural spaces that are easy to understand. The beauty of nature can reach deep into a person’s spirit to improve life in ways they would not have imagined before.”

Mr. Nguyen tells us he grew up in a house of brick and never forgot his childhood vision of sunbeams flowing through open spaces between bricks to throw patterns of light and shadow on the light dust in the air, and how beautiful it was.

Little phenomena such as this connect people with their surroundings, and support the choice of brick as a building material.

The brick wall both gives privacy and provides channels for air and light to pass through.

Stair frame of rebar saves space and adds structural definition.

Most of Tropical Space’s design work makes use of brick, partly because the form has a certain beauty, but deeper than that, brick is an inherently Vietnamese material, indigenous to the area.

The designer pays attention to its true characteristics and searches out new ways of using and arranging it, creating channels for wind and light and taking advantage of its moisture-retaining quality.

Seen from outside, the home is a rectangular block that itself resembles one humongous brick. It faces north because of sun, wind, and rain directions, and without being too hot it gets good light all day long.

The ground floor living room features a wall of bricks alternating with open spaces, lighting and cooling at the same time during the day.

Outside, a little distance from the house to the east and west are walls that keep sunlight from directly hitting it, instead reflecting light through the perforated brick wall and into every inside area.

These outside walls also create channels that guide the wind in and out. Trees are planted there, too, which cool the house with their shade.

The house may look a bit severe, but in this tropical climate its architecture aligns beautifully with nature to provide an amazingly comfortable residence built on a moderate budget.

Openings above and on the sides for natural light to enter during the day.

 


Architect: Tropical Space by Ms.Tran Thi Ngu Ngon and Mr.Nguyen Hai Long


A Gorgeous White Brick House in Ampang Jaya, Malaysia

A Gorgeous White Brick House in Ampang Jaya, Malaysia

/ Ampang Jaya, Malaysia /

/ Story: Skiixy / English version: Peter Montalbano /

/ Photographs: Rithirong Chanthongsuk /

This beautiful brick house belongs to a family of four in Ampang Jaya, a town to the east of Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur. The design work and use of materials such as bamboo and old brick taken from a pre-WWII colonial-style house make it special.

Ampang Jaya

Childhood memories are fragments of the past that many of us can bring back to life. In her childhood, Mrs. Liew Jun Keong was entranced by house design. And in conversation with Studio Bikin’s architect Ms. Farah Azizan, her memories bubbled out, creating a happy chemistry of inspiration between the homeowner and the architect, with the end result of this gorgeous white brick house.

The kitchen counter with large pressed bamboo cylinder mortared in place and smoothed with a trowel.

Mrs. Liew said, “At first, I just had the thought I liked houses with a resort atmosphere and the sort of peace and quiet we used to find on holiday to Bali, Bangkok, or Singapore, experiencing nature in a more original state.

“Then I thought of the house we lived in then, in an area with a lot of unfinished concrete surfaces, and so told the designer I’d like a modern-style concrete house, but with plants and trees all around.

“By modern, I didn’t mean perfect, but featuring the natural surfaces of construction materials that have their own types of beauty.”

Ampang Jaya
The reception parlor with dark wood furniture and vintage cloth coverings in muted tones of blue and gray.

Ampang Jaya
[Left] In the back of the house is a place to take a nap. [Right] The kitchen connects back to that nap space. Wood latticework helps with ventilation.

A Chinese devotional altar room

The master bathroom

After a good talk, the architect and the homeowner found their ideas really resonated with each other. Ms. Azizan also had pleasant surprises for Mrs. Liew. She came up with the materials handpicked specifically for this house.

“I was really impressed with Farah’s detailed choice of materials. I tend to think of the normal uses for bamboo, for instance, as for pipes, but she used it as a decorative façade for the house,” said Mrs Liew.

“Next, it was this batch of white brick, which has an extraordinary history, coming from the demolition of a colonial-style residence built before World War II.

“The brick had no coloring when she bought it. We were lucky to get this brick, as it was the first batch. Others looking at this may first notice it has blemishes or that the sizes are irregular, but it’s iconic material for that period, with a great value, and absolutely perfect for our family.”

The entire house is painted white, except for sections of bare cement. There isn’t a lot of interior furnishing and decoration, and furniture is limited to what is necessary.

Mrs. Liew values simplicity and doesn’t care for fancy interior décor. She said that she hadn’t yet found decorative work with the kind of natural beauty she cared for.

The homeowner added enthusiastically: “I’d never dreamed of living in a place where sunlight reached into the center of the house, which is something I now really appreciate.

“And the bricks used in the construction have blemishes, but each imperfection somehow adds to the perfection of the whole.”

Ampang Jaya

 


Owner: Mrs. Liew Jun Keong

Designer: Studio Bikin by Ms. Farah Azizan


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