Jasmine House / VUUV Architecture and Interior Design

Curated by Hana Abdel

Architects: VUUV Architecture and Interior Design
Area: 800 m²
Year: 2019
Photographs:Tuong Huy
Manufacturers: Atvin, D'furni, Kanak, LIXIL　, Vietceramics
Contractors: B-up construction, Anh&Em, D’furni, Gia Hải

Text description provided by the architects. Jasmine house is located in a small lane in Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, once belonged to Ngoc Ha Flower Village. Like many other areas around the inner city, there has been a strong urbanization process here. Yet thanks to its own unique feature of being located near the city center and diplomatic headquarters, the area gradually became a residential area of foreign community living and working in Vietnam. This has been creating a big change to the appearance and nature of buildings here. There are not only small houses for households, but also alternating larger buildings to welcome newcomers. That is why buildings with apartments for rent have been very prevalent here.

That fact has posed challenges for us when taking this project. First, what is the new way of living in this type of apartment-for-rent, especially in this area? Secondly, architectural design must be effective and truly out-of-the-box as it will play an important role in promoting the investor's business among too many apartments for rent. With coherent structure, we organize different layers of space, from public spaces, semi-public spaces and private spaces. The base of the building includes the first floor and mezzanine designed for community space.

From the 2nd to 7th floor there are different types of apartment. On the second and third floors there are small-sized studios. On the 4th floor there is a big-sized studio and on the 5th, 6th and 7th floors are duplex. Diversifying the types of apartments helps guests to easily choose for themselves the most suitable space. Each apartment is designed with full amenities, light and natural ventilation.

In addition to the basic spaces such as kitchen, dining, living room, bedroom and restroom, each apartment is also designed with a balcony. The balcony is a combination of inside and outside space; it can be a relaxing space or reading space. If the balcony of apartments in the front of the house are designed as expanding spaces, the balcony of apartment at the back are designed to be floating in the skylight of the building. These are also the "semi-public" spaces - designed separately for each apartment but people living in adjacent apartments can still make contact with each other. These balconies also serve as buffering layers, protecting the main space in the apartment from the direct impact of sunlight from the West.

As for the furniture inside the building, we have designed to exploit the skillfulness of Vietnamese craftsmen from basic materials such as granite, iron, wood ... The curves studied in the interior are also expressed outside the façade, creating a distinctive language throughout the project. The nostalgia for a traditional flower village of Hanoi is subtly put into our works. Green spaces are maximized throughout the building, from the entrance porch to the interior courtyard, from the balcony of the apartments to the rooftop garden ... and even the color or the name of each apartment reflects our nostalgia for the historic land!