Project: BMT House
Architects: Studio KA+AD9 Architects
location: Vietnam
Area: 6,458 SF
general: 2020
photos by: Hiroyuki Aoki
BMT House by KA Studio + AD9 Architects
BMT House is a cool, compact modern residence designed for the young couple who love nature and the core values of life. It was designed in collaboration between KA Studio and AD9 Architects, both Vietnamese studios from Ho Chi Minh City.
BMT House is our way of retelling the tale of beautiful memories belonging to a young couple, their love of nature and the core values of life. They shared with us stories of their childhood, when they were born and raised in the simplest, poetic beauty of a brick thatched house surrounded by a lush green garden, and the mesmerizing, poetic sound of birds chiming with the stream gushing in their front yard.
The house is located in the upcoming new urban area north of Buon Ma Thuot City. Like most current urban and rural planning projects with completed infrastructure and traffic systems, we were allocated a square and flat plot of land despite being within the Highlands. Our main goal was to create a home that could withstand the local climate while retaining the uniqueness and knowledge of traditional architecture and, at the same time, making new discoveries. We have worked to design a home that we hope will be the right place to represent the couple’s fond memories and the beginning of an exciting future for their family.
The functional units were formed in a natural and continuous manner, with private and communal areas distinctly separated yet gently separated. We aimed for boundaries between spaces to be almost non-existent, without major, supporting areas, so that every piece of the house, garden, and stream are all connected, not separated, and dependent on each other to create the core values of the building. In terms of the construction of the house, the ground floor consists of the living room and the kitchen, connected by a corridor that floats above the stream. The resting area is to the rear, surrounded by the privacy and tranquility of the garden. The first floor is a study area for reading and home office, with two bedrooms intertwined with storage space of green plants.
Daily activities in this house are encouraged to spread throughout the different areas, all oriented towards the main garden (the heart of the build). From there, the functional blocks are linked to temporary storage spaces that lie under the spacious canopy, where residents can be exposed to and blend with nature. Storage spaces inside and outside the home are designed to allow natural air circulation so that both indoor and outdoor areas can take full advantage of nature and receive sunshine and airflow all day long. The roof structures represent the architectural morphology according to the evolution of low to high functional blocks. The gentle slope of the building provides a lower height, limits precipitation, and gradually reduces direct sunlight to the interior area. Observed from a distance, the ceiling creates an overlapping, fluid rhythm.
The materials used are bare concrete with rustic wood grain, natural woods and stone, all organic and eco-friendly, carrying a local feel while ensuring the comfort of a modern lifestyle. After two years of building BMT House, we feel strongly from its presence and experience of the traditional values brought over from the couple’s childhood home, how they are connected and transformed into the present and the future, and that this home will be the place where their children grow up while nourished by the magic of nature. We want to convey, through this project, the call to protect and extend the spirit of traditional architecture amidst the hustle and bustle of urban life, and how each architectural project can be shaped to house and nurture the beauty in one’s soul.
AD9 Architects
