Block Architects Blends Ancient and Modern Style in a Vegan House

This is a house dedicated to those who want to stop in Vietnam. The owners renovated the house to make it a cultural place where guests can meet, share experiences, and cook traditional Vietnamese food, especially vegan food. Located in Ho Chi Minh City, this house is situated on an old terrace next to an apartment building that was built in 1965. So, renovating a building with a site condition that's in an 'old' environment requires different attention and treatment. For this renovation project, the owner entrusted Block Architects to make some changes.

Vegan House.
To minimize the budget, Block Architects utilizes the owner's old items such as tables, chairs, wardrobes, windows, and lampshades for reuse. The old items are combined with the new to create a fresher place while retaining the traditional values ​​of a second-hand house. The most striking thing is the use of old windows that are installed as facades and become the hallmark of Vegan House with colorful colors that make it even more characterful. In Vietnam, this kind of window is commonly used even for a long time because the wide ventilation allows more air to enter.

Interior of the Vegan House.

These old windows were arranged to the roof covering the old facade. In addition, the use of windows is also carried out in the house as a light partition that functions to separate and decorate the space. The space placement in this house is also calculated by the architect to accommodate the needs of the owner and guests. As a result, on the ground floor is placed a kitchen with curved cabinets to store furniture. This kitchen can be said to be quite large because it is allocated as the main place for people to gather, cook, and chat, as well as being a shared dining room in the dining room at the back. To access the first floor, guests will pass through an inner garden and an old staircase. On the first floor, there is a bedroom equipped with a place to relax or work.

Roof cover from old windows.

Rooftop garden.

The second floor can be accessed via a newly constructed steel staircase next to the atrium, once this was an unused roof. On this floor, there is also a bedroom with walls made of old steel sheets that are deliberately placed a bit short of the roof to prevent heat that might flow into the room. In front of this room, there is a small place to drink tea and see the surrounding scenery.

Kitchen area.

In addition, there is a small atrium placed in the corner of the room that functions as cross-room ventilation as well as a source of natural light circulation that illuminates the toilet during the day. The interior of Vegan House looks “honest” by just leaving the cement as it is without finishing, side by side with windows and bamboo wattles on the ceiling that creates a modern but ancient place, this can revive Vietnamese architecture in the 60s to 70s.

Void for natural lighting.

Axonometric diagram of Vegan House.

Project Information

	Office Name : Block Architects
	Project Location : Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
	Completion year : 2014
	Photographer Name : Quang Tran