Project: Tile Nest House
Architects: H&P Architects
Location: Phu Lu, Vietnam
Area: 4,843 sf
Year: 2021
Photographs by: Le Minh Hoang
Tile Nest House by H&P Architects
The Tile Nest House, designed by H&P Architects and located in Phu Ly City, Vietnam, is a unique dwelling that makes creative use of both space and materials. The house is situated in an area with a history of deep underground graves, leading to the idea of incorporating the excavated soil layer into the house’s design. This concept gives rise to a distinctive appearance, with a corrugated shell on the outside, resembling suspended tiles, and a spacious interior.
The house is in a newly developing urban area in Phu Ly City (Ha Nam province). Since this area is supposed to have graves deep underground (due to its proximity to the former cemetery), it is, therefore, necessary to excavate the old soil layer before construction to clear the above-mentioned assumption. This perspective then helps develop the concept of making use of the excavated site as part of the house (after the old soil layer is removed) so that not only distinguishable special features are created but also the possibility to harness geothermal energy is made.
Named as Tile Nest, the house communicates the idea of creating a space, a blend of the Nest with many nooks and crannies finding all their way up to the ground and the Ancient Pit House partially hidden underground. This combination gives the house’s architecture a distinct corrugated appearance, with the shell felt like porous/ perforated on the outside and a large space on the inside.
The outer shell is made up of many tiles suspended as if they were flying (provoking thought of a stacked roof, and a sunshade, as found in a traditional house manner, ..); The middle layer is characterized by transitional green balconies at different heights, which brings about captivating views and helps regulate the microclimate for spaces for use inside.
For a long time, tile has become a familiar and popular material with Vietnamese people, yet it is applied to this house in an unusual way to make its presence felt by seeing through, touching, and sensing properties, thereby creating different but close experiences in the space of flower-like patterns from sunshine reflection, wind and the scent of plants – an Architecture immersed in nature realized by a full-of-memory personality.
