Text description provided by the architects. T-house is located on the land of 3.77x11.32m, deep in a small and long alley of Saigon. The house is both a home for a young couple and a playground for their two children. Ho Chi Minh City in general and District 6 in particular are densely populated areas, with over 600 alleyways over 70 000 m long. Deep in the alleys, there are quite a few townhouses with narrow horizontal facades and small areas. Besides, housing demand for young households (2-4 members) is increasing.
From there, the problem was posed "House model for a young family with limited area and cost". Towards a space without separation, a playground for children, where all members can connect and communicate with each other more easily.
Limited in area, the structure of the house must grow in height to ensure the demand for functional use. Split floor layout with 11 floors assembled staggered vertically, linked by a flexible traffic system, thereby creating many spaces of different heights. The spaces for living and playing are arranged and intertwined. The higher you go, the more dense and private the space will be.
Traffic structures are modified and used as living spaces (playgrounds, libraries, ...) to help eliminate boredom when moving and erase the sense of separation between floors. The spaces are divided by "soft limits" from the elevation changes between the floor slabs - a floor structure that continuously evolves both vertically and horizontally. The floor definition is removed and replaced with a sequence of undivided living spaces. All that creates a general “atmosphere” for the house.
Minimizing the volume of reinforced concrete construction, inside the shell (wall and roof floor) is a pre-assembled steel wooden floor system, in order to create the lightest feeling. The form of sparse wooden floors, staggered layout, and flexible and suspended stairs, allow the "living atmosphere" to creep into every corner of the house.
T-house is the starting step for the study of the "multi-story house" structure to the "continuous floor" structure in our architectural practice for the urban tube house problem.
