corrugated metal roof tops modern rural house in a remote region of vietnam

cuong.buildingworkshop designed a dwelling that reflects the traditional lifestyle of the ethnic group ‘thai’, located in a remote region of thanh hoa prefecture, vietnam. the area is very rural and the landscape is characterized by mountain valleys, streams, hamlets, and rice fields. the region is the land of thai people, a small ethnic group that has been living for centuries with a unique lifestyle where everyone lives together in one space and under one huge roof. in general, the traditional house forms a big space, under a big roof, without partition walls. 

all images courtesy of cuong.buildingworkshop
the house is aligned with north and south direction in order to take advantage of the prevailing wind and increase shade area for semi-outdoor activities

this space by cuong.buildingworkshop accommodates different functions such as a kitchen, a living area, a sleeping area, where everyone shares their space together. in vietnam, people use the floor for their daily activities; meeting guests, eating, sleeping, cooking, and cultural events. it results in a lifestyle that enriches communal and collective activities that bring people together. therefore, the most critical approach to designing this house was how to interpret people’s living habits that exist in their long-lasting history which is why the designers’ strategy was to think from the inside out.

the huge corrugated roof is inherited from the traditional house

for instance, instead of dividing into many functions, they proposed a multi-functional space that houses the living room, the kitchen, and the dining room, just like the traditional house on stilt. the triangular morphology in the layout and the roof is the result of the surrounding context: there are many trees at the construction site that the designers wanted to keep since they want the original landscape to remain least touched.

after observing the site, the designers thought that they can take advantage of the slope to set the house significantly higher than the road level. in this way, despite being stuck to the ground, the house still gives a sense of the traditional house on stilts as people always have a habit of looking up the house and accessing it by using the stair. in addition, two floating wooden decks emphasize the house level and create a human-friendly entrance.

‘thermal chimney’ on top of the roof plays an important role in the ventilation of the house

in terms of the environment, cuong.buildingworkshop supposes that every house no matter what context they are in should optimize human comfort by controlling heat, wind ventilation, light, and energy efficiency. for this reason, they applied cross ventilation in many areas of the house. for instance, bay windows with two openings in the opposite direction are introduced in bedrooms and in the common space. they believe that is an effective way to have in and outflow of the air. this small detail also creates indirect light for the interior which is tender, soft, and always comforts the human eye.

main entrance

finally, the unique shaped roof plays an important role in this house. it has an opening like a clerestory window for fresh air to flow in like many car air intake system to cool down the combustion engine and the light can also penetrate. there is a so-called “thermal chimney” on top of the roof that reaches almost 3 meters high. thermal chimneys take advantage of the physical law of stack ventilation. as a result, the house is always ventilated horizontally and vertically.

roof plan

floor plan

longitudinal section

animation of building components

project info:

name : tup house

designer: cuong.buildingworkshop

location: thanh hoa, vietnam

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: yasmina karam | designboom