“The Memory” is an architectural project that is designed for a family of 3 generations – One of the specific characteristics of the Vietnamese - cultural tradition is having the grandparents, the parents and the children all living together in the same house.The spatial structure of this project requires a solution to solve basis daily issues that could arise between 2 young families and an elderly. In addition, the relation, the correlation and the collision occur when there is no syntony in the lifestyles of the 3 generations is also a big challenge. In order to solve this problem, we consciously design a big house with 2 smaller private houses inside but they have the common front yard as well as back yard; at the end, all of the structures come together as one block .
The creation of a secondary activity area and a walkway to the back of the house helps segregating daily life activities of the 2 families and preventing them from colliding with each other; however, the house is still a continuous space for the children to play and the whole family to connect with one another. The main entrance of structure reminds us of “porch roof” of a traditional Vietnamese house, it is like a terrace space made of trees and water .The main entrance is also higher lifted than the floor to create a gap that is big enough for ventilation. “Ngạch cửa” – an interesting detail of a Vietnamese house – is a place where they can sit, relax, or chat with their neighbors; especially, this is also - the children’ favorite playing space . The living room seems to be a small indoor yard where the light always changes, this is an enjoyable highlight when we step into this space.
In addition, one focus point of this project which we want to retain is the old tiled roof which was built by the grandfather himself about 50 years ago before the new house was constructed. This roof is the center and also the transitional space, it is seen as the soul of the overall structure of this house. The space below this tiled roof is the place where the whole family have dinner together everynight -, share stories as well as recalling past memories. The space above the roof is transformed into a multi-purposed place for the children - to relax or reading book....
With "Khoảng trống" and natural light cleverly tackled, we can easily feel the outside weather from the inside. The spatial ratio is also carefully considered to create necessary contrast between one space and another, light and darkness, modern and tradition. The height of the space is correlated with the empty spaces to bring the edequate sensation and make the people feel comfortable living inside. Beside ratio, space, light, and shadow, we also put into some trees so that everyone who comes in “the memory” can feel everything truely and closely.The trees are the balancing points between the visual and material blocks of the house, they also have sensation-balancing effect.
“The Memory” is not just a house, it also reminds the family members of of their lost ones. According to the “No born, no die” philosophy, when we lose a beloved family member, the grief will always be there but the essence is in fact “no born, no die”. We believe that in this house, in this space, the soul of the late grandfather and father will always exist - in every single tile, pillar, detail... which was made by the ancestors themselves. .
“The Memory” aims to clear out the notion about the contrast between oldness and newness, light and darkness, tradition and modern. The project aims to stop people from tying themselves to one perception and taking it as the only truth. When you are not tied to one perception only, you are free.
