Planted Terraces Among Concrete Living Spaces

This is Binh House.

Vo Trong Nghia from VTN Architects has finished the next installment in its House for Trees series, a residence in Ho Chi Minh City with gardens built on top of many stacked floors viewable via gaps in the concrete walls.

The House for Trees series aspires to restore the historic relationship between buildings and environment that existed in Vietnam previous to the country's recent rapid urbanization.

The Inhabitant is a three-generation family. As a result, the issue is to design areas that enable people to connect and communicate despite their differences.

This uneven vertical shape will also aid in maintaining ventilation through the building when further planned houses are built beside the house.

The property's entry on the ground floor leads onto a lounge space divided from a dining area by trees and bushes growing in a gravel yard.

The roof gardens include huge trees that provide shade, lowering the internal temperature. Vegetables can also be cultivated to meet the everyday requirements of its residents. This vertical farming method is appropriate for high-density homes and contributes to the Vietnamese way of life.

An open-air atrium fitted with sliding glass doors beyond the dining area has towering palms and stepping stones leading to a bedroom suite.

Two other suites are located on the upper floor, which also has a study and a spa with an outdoor jacuzzi.

This house decreases operational and maintenance costs significantly by utilizing sustainable materials such as natural stone, wood, and exposed concrete in conjunction with the microclimate. Residents have never utilized provided air conditioning in the past. The purpose of architecture is not just to address practical and aesthetic considerations, but also to link people to one another and people to nature.

Photograph by Hiroyuki Oki, Quang Dam.