terraced step house by 03- suits the humid context of northern vietnam

03-‘s ‘step house’ is set in vinh phuc city — a one-hour car drive from hanoi, vietnam. the architects’ client hopes to use it during weekends with family and friends, surrounded by nature and fresh air. the region is located in a hot and humid area, especially northern vietnam. in spite of that, most vietnamese houses and buildings don’t have suitable ventilation and consideration for strong solar radiation.

second and third floor create shadows over the wall under each slab

vietnamese based firm 03-‘s residential project aims to be a suitable house building in a hot and humid area. the design team has used the few vanishing traditional wooden work roof and door system in order to keep the well ventilation and prevention of solar radiation. the site chosen for ‘step house’ is a resort-developed land facing back towards a lake on the east side and facing to the road on both the south and east side, as well. 03- places full-open door and balcony from the first to the third floor at the south and east side in order to get the window view towards the lake. ultimately, original block material has been placed at south-west side, maintaining privacy indoors.

each floor has the garden to connect the lake and the interior areas

each floor is slipped, creating balconies on the south east side. the upper floor overhangs the lower floor at the north west side and prevents the RC structure’s temperature to raise. in order to prevent the temperature rising, 03- has analyzed a few planning options and calculated the optimum solution for it. the roof consists of a sloped wooden structure with ceramic roof tiles and an elevation exhaust window on top. this exhaust window is expected to have the ventilation effect from the second and third floor to the top. the architects have frequently discussed the roof structure with vietnamese carpenters and decided the design for it. a modern method, like computer analysis, is used for the design process. on the other hand, the project team has tried to keep vietnamese traditional technology and techniques available for vietnamese climate and culture.

each roof garden may be approached by an outdoor stair case

south facade view at night time

the facade features a hand-made porous blocks by custom design

the third floor includes swing doors using vietnamese traditional technology

on the second floor, the random lighting pass through the hand-made porous blocks

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edited by: apostolos costarangos | designboom