Maison TT | tuan-nghia nguyen

This townhouse is designed to accommodate a three-generation family in a fast-growing urban area. Like other areas in Da Nang, it is difficult to find a balance between the slow-paced lifestyle of local citizens and the modern lifestyle that is rapidly taking over this city.

Inspired by Japanese’s Origami art (which partly affected the culture and architecture of Hoi An-Da Nang), we folded and pulled all functional spaces closer to the core space in the middle of this house, which is an internal courtyard (an architectural feature that is very common in Danang people’s homes). The architecture form is based on a spiral structure in the center. All the internal spaces are attached to a core wall that swirls inwards vertically, and connected to each other through interwoven traffic paths that go around the core wall. The spiral staircase that runs around the core space of the house is both an architectural highlight and increases the “cross section” to connect different functional spaces as well as the members of the three-generation family who live in this house. 

Maison TT is designed for a young couple with their two children and their elderly mother. Therefore, the functional spaces are programmed and arranged to adapt the traditional lifestyle, despite being modern and experimental in terms of architectural form. The kitchen, which is attached with the skylight, is the heart of the house which connects all family members through its activities. The green area within the kitchen, right under the skylight, has plants that grow vertically and reach out to other internal spaces on the upper levels, bringing sunlight, wind and nature all around the house. The idea of this house is to create a structure that shrinks to the courtyard in the middle of the house on the first floor and then opens up to different directions as we go on to different levels. This structure allows people who are dwelling inside this house to connect with each other and the nature inside and outside of its structure in harmony and sustainability.

Wooden planks from an old local boat in nearby coastal area were collected and reused to form this house double-skin facade and as a part of the interior scheme. This special feature creates cultural and nostagic asmostphere fitted with the traditional lifestyle of the family.