the white house by saola architects fuses indoors with garden space in laos

on a small plot of land in vientiane, laos, saola architects‘ white house unfolds itself into a lush outdoor space. inspired by the local vernacular, the project embraces the traditional style of living in laos, which is spent mostly outdoors and underneath timber houses on stilts. 

all images courtesy of saola architects

the design is described by saola architects as ‘an abstraction materialized as white color’. within this white mass, the concept combines four basic elements: the site, the program, empty space and the garden. articulated by large horizontal planes, the architecture is arranged in a diagonal fashion to generate a dynamic space and break up the heavy volume. 

surrounded by lush vegetation and trees, the new two bedroom residence follows a similar spatial configuration to the traditional houses in laos. however, instead of wooden stilts, the building appears to ‘float’ with an expansive horizontal plane. the walls of the narrow plot support the v structure, leaving ample space underneath the house. the lower volume contains the kitchen and living room in connection with a more intimate part of the garden in the back of the site. the upper volume contains the bedrooms, opening up views onto the surrounding treetops.

in the garden a long swimming pool runs along one side of the site, which invites playful reflections and the calming quality of water. the vibrancy of the green grass and the purity of the white structure is offset by exposed concrete that extends from the interior to the outdoor environment. this texture, alongside swathes of warm timber, helps to root the architecture to the place and create an inviting home.

project info:

project name: the white house

location: laos

architect: saola architects