Hollow Brick Villa

Idea projektu

Hollow Brick Villa – Concept & Design Statement
The project is titled “Hollow Brick Villa”, a name that captures the two central ideas of the design. “Brick” refers to the primary use of terracotta bricks – a warm, locally rooted material that brings both texture and authenticity to the architecture. “Hollow” conveys the spatial philosophy of the project: a constant interplay between solid and void, where light, air, and in-between spaces become integral parts of the design. It is a home where material meets air, and structure becomes space.

The site stretches along the banks of West Lake, a place steeped in historical layers, cultural depth, and the enduring values of Thăng Long – Hà Nội, the thousand-year-old capital of Vietnam. Within this rich urban context, the design brief was to conceive a villa for a family of artists: the father is a painter, the mother an architect, along with their two children and a live-in housekeeper.
From the outset, the clients expressed a clear desire: the house must not only serve as a residence, but also function as a creative living space — integrating a private gallery for exhibitions and a personal studio for painting, forming part of the family's everyday rhythm.
The plot is horizontally stretched, opening up wide toward the lake. Responding to this geometry, the design proposal envisions a distinctive, characterful villa — one that reflects the artistic personality of its owners. The massing is organized into three primary volumes, composed through a sequence of solid and void, where spatial contrasts generate rhythm, natural light, and layered transparency.
The entire building is developed upon a modular grid of 1.1 x 1.1 meters, serving as a spatial framework that ensures consistency in volumetric composition, proportion, structure, and interior detailing — a “breathing rhythm” embedded into the architecture itself.

Popis projektu

Site Strategy & Spatial Organization
One of the most valuable advantages of the site is its panoramic view overlooking West Lake – a rare luxury within the dense fabric of the city. However, this western orientation also exposes the building to hot afternoon winds and sunlight. To mitigate this, the design incorporates a system of reflective ponds and lush greenery, positioned both at the lakefront and interwoven throughout the building’s massing. These elements help regulate the microclimate, soften solar heat gain, and simultaneously create a rhythmic sequence of solid and void, bringing light, air, and shadows into dynamic dialogue.

The project is accessed via two separate entrances, responding to the dual nature of the villa’s functions:
One entrance leads directly to the gallery and exhibition space, which is open to guests, friends, and collaborators. This public-facing zone is enhanced by curated landscape moments, framed views, and spatial breathing rooms, intended to spark inspiration for artistic work and creative exchange.
The second entrance connects to the private residential quarters, ensuring discretion and calm. The kitchen and main dining area are located on the ground floor of the rear volume, offering both privacy and practical adjacency to the rest of the family zones.

A transitional pathway links the public gallery wing to a large living room in the central block — a spatial “hub” designed for entertaining, socializing, and hosting intimate gatherings, reflecting the family’s active creative and cultural life.
In terms of vertical zoning:
The ground floor accommodates all dynamic and communal functions: the art studio, gallery, kitchen, dining, and living spaces.
The second floor houses the master bedroom and family lounge, with a central void that opens up the core, allowing vertical light flow, cross-ventilation, and a generous spatial perception.
The third floor contains the children’s bedrooms and auxiliary rooms.
The top floor (rooftop level) is dedicated to the laundry room and a contemplative worship space, positioned as the quietest, most introspective part of the house, facing the sky and the lake.

All main rooms are oriented toward the lake view, maximizing natural light, ventilation, and emotional connection to the surrounding landscape. Interspersed gardens and voids between the main volumes not only soften the architectural form but also act as microclimatic buffers, shaping an atmosphere where nature, art, and domestic life are closely intertwined.

Technické informace

The building employs a brick masonry structure, with the façade composed as a dialogue between raw material expression and a carefully choreographed play of solid and void. Exposed terracotta bricks are left unfinished, preserving their authentic, tactile character, while also evoking a sense of local craftsmanship and earth-bound honesty.
The walls are intentionally thickened, not only to enhance thermal insulation under tropical conditions, but also to create depth and sculpted shadow across the façade. As daylight shifts throughout the day, bold shadows fall over the varied openings, each carefully proportioned to craft a rhythmic and ever-changing visual experience.
Every aperture is treated as part of a living façade, where light and void interact fluidly, complemented by subtle green accents from integrated planters and landscape pockets. The result is an architectural language that feels both quietly grounded and poetically expressive.

Dokumentace

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