Landscape Experts Sunnyvale: Thao Dien House #2 / MM++ architects

Architects: MM++ architects
Location: Thảo Điền, Quận 2, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Area: 300.0 sqm
Year: 2014
Photographs: Hiroyuki OKI

Project Architects: My An PHAM THI
Construction Team: Cuong LAM QUOC, Triet LE HUU

From the architect. Design and Built mission (architecture – interior – landscape).

This is the second villa of our “extreme renovation” project in east suburb of Ho Chi Minh City, District 2. Same as for our project Thao Dien house #1, starting from a poor quality existing construction, the villa has been turned into contemporary open spaces while keeping the entire existing concrete structure.

- The building has been reduced to its concrete frame and reshaped with a new foot print and a new staircase position.

- On the ground floor, living room, dining and kitchen are merged in one unique space fully open to the outdoor on three sides same our previous project, but this time with customized steel frame windows on pivot bringing a “retro-vintage” feeling to the design as well as the industrial look black steel staircase.

- On the first floor, four bedrooms with double brick wall insulated and timber sliding louvers to prevent from direct sun light and allow crossing ventilation.

Same as Thao Dien House #1, the existing house had no quality, adding no value to an expensive land with a lot of potential.

Where Thao Dien villa #1 was developing a strong focus on the “vegetal”, efforts on Thao Dien villa #2 have been focusing on creating a sense of the place with the use of recycled bricks, exposed concrete and steel frame windows.