Less House from Ho Chi Minh City Features a Translucent Facade

Titled Less House, this project, from the the city of Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, saw the design and construction of a translucent town house. The building was designed by local architecture firm H.a and completed in 2017.

The house is set on a relatively small site of 13.12-by-59.05 feet (4-by-18 meters), covering an area of 775.00-square-feet (72-square-meters).

Less House is stroking from the outset: it’s front elevation is covered with a layer that’s almost transparent, revealing the home’s inside. An internal garden, set just behind the front facade, helps to provide a degree of privacy. The garden theme continues throughout, with plants and greenery adorning every room.

The remaining walls of Less House are solid and finished in a plain white on the inside. The floor looks to be made of a pebbled concrete on the ground floor, which gives way to a warmer wood floor on the upper level. The theme of openness continues through to the home’s internal spaces.

The ground floor plan contains a series of rooms that are partitioned off only be the presence of the home’s staircase. The open plan goes from a short entrance garden through to the living room, followed by the kitchen and dining area. Beyond the staircase you’ll find the master bedroom.

The rear end of the ground floor contains a bathroom, storage closet and laundry area (not to mention another small internal garden). Up the lightweight steel staircase you’ll be taken into an altar and zen space, with bedrooms placed at either end of the home.

There’s a second bathroom, placed centrally, on this level. From the architects: “The house is designed to remove any inherent limitations. The partition system is movable, the woven gardens appear and disappear alternative together, the toilet hidden in the wood cabinets, the sunny shines everywhere, the breeze comes around… Feeling goes by that melts, wide, throughout.”

For more small houses check out Glass Link House, a contemporary makeover for a family of five. Or, this bright and airy home by Ruetemple from Moscow. See all small houses.

Photos © Quang Dam