Excerpt: Coco House by Duy Le Architects in Sóc Trăng, Vietnam is a residence with a strong glass brick facade that takes inspiration from the movie Coco to look at familial connections and translate into space by using transparencies and infinite vistas all across the house. The house also sits on a narrow-width site and hence, the illusions and the flow of light are the characteristics that enlarge the interior spaces.
Project Description
Inspiration
[Text as submitted by architect] Coco, an animated Pixar film, focuses on the theme of family affection, the connection between generations and family members. Taking inspiration from this, the architect wishes to create a new sense of space, bridging the reality and virtuality through the play of transparencies and materials. As a result, the effect manifested by the materials would create a duplicating illusion which provides a spacious sense to the house (the width of the house is only 4.6m).
At some specific angles, an infinite view can be seen within the house. Some details in the house are only half-designed and once reflected by the mirror, they will review the complete pattern (You can see the details of the window arches in the reading space on the 2nd floor).
This is a method to amplify the space for a narrow-width townhouse, which provides the feeling of space expansion and also brings to life the concept that the architect wishes to convey into the building.
The clients demanded a large plantation area with a koi fish pond in the minimalistic spatial language. The design also demanded these specific technical characteristics:
- Integrating fishpond and garden into co-living space: recognizing the investor’s demand for a huge area catering his/her planting and fishkeeping hobby under a constricted space, the architect has incorporated these areas creating a co-living space. The fishpond not only provides a scenic element but also adjusts the microclimate for the living space.
Material and configuration:
- The design utilizes glass brick to imitate wave patterns, which visualize the Western water region of Vietnam as well as emphasizing the aesthetic curve of the façade. The glass bricks not only guarantee privacy for the open space within the house but also provide enough natural lighting.
The design utilizes ventilation brick to ensure protection from rainy weather. Moreover, it also allows air circulation from the façade to every nook and cranny (view the cross section). The selection and arrangement of the ventilation bricks, which have been under thorough consideration from the architect, are set up in different directions for aesthetic aspects as well as functioning as drainage and ventilator.
The architect has also merged the living room and kitchen into one unifying space through the art of “space-lending”. Therefore, the kitchen and dining space can be adaptably expanded by adding a dining table with 6 to 18 seats for special occasions or for large groups of visitors.
Solution for microclimate adjustment:
- The house contains 5 different-sized gardens which not only align with the planting hobby of the investor, but also act as noise suppressors and dust prevention.
- Marble pebbles scattering across the glass roof is the solution for light regulating. It helps the light reflect across the living space creating a luminous effect which is suitable for daily activities.
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