Project: Sustainable Weekend Villa
Architects: Kanopea Architecture Studio, T3 ARCHITECTS
Location: Ho Tram, Vietnam
Area: 2.690 sf
Year: 2023
Photographs by: Phu Dao
This Ho Tram villa, a tranquil escape from Ho Chi Minh City’s chaos, embraces both family and eco-friendliness. Designed by T3 and KANOPÉA, the low-lying villa blends seamlessly with its lush surroundings. Sunlight filters through a cleverly designed roof insulated with rice husks, keeping the interior cool. Stepping inside, a breezy living space unfolds, completely open to the inviting garden.
Private bedrooms lie opposite the road, creating a quiet buffer zone. A cleverly placed outdoor dining area lets you savor tropical evenings, while a hidden gym beckons from the garden’s edge. Sustainable features abound: wide roof overhangs shield the home from harsh sun and monsoon rains, while natural ventilation and local plants minimize reliance on resources. This bioclimatic haven by T3 and KANOPÉA offers a perfect escape – simple, serene, and respectful of the environment.
T3 ARCHITECTS and KANOPÉA Architecture Studio designed this tropical villa in Ho Tram, located in the South of Vietnam, following the principles of bioclimatic architecture. Our client wanted a secondary residence to spend time with family in the beautiful Vietnamese countryside, away from the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City. Therefore, T3’s objective was to create a single-story villa surrounded by greenery that would be functional, enjoyable to live in, and completely open to the garden.
As with any project, the T3 team studied the main winds, rains, and sun direction, striving to make the most of the plot to design a comfortable home that invites a sense of inner calm. The house consists of two entities: the first encompasses all the living spaces, naturally ventilated and entirely open to the garden, while the other part is “climate-controlled,” fully insulated with rice husks for the roof, using lightweight concrete blocks to avoid excessive inertia, yet still allowing natural ventilation throughout the rooms. The idea remains to minimize reliance on air conditioning. These two entities form a “T”-shaped volume, with a more private wing (housing the bedrooms and office) facing the dirt road, while the family/public space extends into the garden and is completely open to it. Placing the bedroom volume perpendicular to the small road creates a kind of “buffer zone,” providing a high level of privacy for the living room, kitchen, and pool area.
At the front entrance, T3 situated the garage, also serving as a utility room, alongside a private garden dedicated to the master suite, particularly the bathroom covered by a roof but open to the outside to benefit from natural light and ventilation. Sliding doors allow closure of the house when necessary, but generally, this space is naturally ventilated, and ceiling fans optimize comfort while minimizing energy consumption. An outdoor dining area with a barbecue is connected to the living room, allowing enjoyment of tropical evenings while slightly avoiding insects and other creatures thanks to a raised terrace compared to the natural ground level. Additionally, a gym is located at the back of the garden, facing the pool.
The entire building is designed with wide roof overhangs insulated with rice husks (20-30cm thick) to prevent heat transfer through the ceiling, offering significantly lower temperatures than outside while protecting the facades from rain during the monsoon. The lighting design by Kobi Lighting Studio highlights the architecture and landscape connectivity and creates ambiences with varying degrees of light based on the users’ rhythms and moods, also following a sustainable approach, contributing to reducing light pollution prevalent in major cities.
The landscape design was carefully crafted to offer a tropical environment by selecting both local species for biodiversity and plants and trees requiring minimal maintenance, a crucial point for a weekend villa, in line with a frugal and local approach to landscaping. Finally, with the increasing population in major cities and the hectic pace of life, more and more people opt to either relocate or acquire a secondary residence in a peaceful place to enjoy life’s simple yet essential pleasures: nature, family, and friends. T3 ARCHITECTS and KANOPÉA Architecture Studio could fulfill this desire for escape while maintaining a logic of sustainability, frugality, and simplicity, integrating the principles of bioclimatic architecture.
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