Maison Vespa

180, Bạch Đằng, Hải Châu, Đà Nẵng, Vietnam

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Maison Piaggio

Maison Vespa

180, Bạch Đằng, Hải Châu, Đà Nẵng, Vietnam

Firm

David Rockwood, Architect

Type

Residential › Private House

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2021

SIZE

0 sqft - 1000 sqft

BUDGET

$50K - 100K

Maison Vespa - a one-story single family rowhouse designed David Rockwood Architect - was built in a recently developed area on the southern edge of Da Nang, Viet Nam. Vietnamese rowhouses are typically 2-5 stories and are built to accommodate multi-generational households. This house is built for a couple that travel frequently, and do not need large spaces and numerous amenities.

The house is built on a 5m x 20m typical Da Nang lot and contains 70 m2 of interior space, 53 m2 roof deck area, and 18 m2 courtyard space. The living room and kitchen are positioned on the street side and are protected by a pair of louvered front gates and an entry courtyard. The courtyard allows outdoor seating and motorbike parking. The bedroom is placed at the quieter back end of the house. A narrow courtyard and louver screen provides privacy and filtered light into the bedroom.

The architect notes that the “Maison Vespa” title given to this house is a play on Le Corbusier’s Maison Citrohan of 1920, for which it shares some affinities: both are simple box forms, are small in size and efficient in space use, and are aimed at the “affordable” market. The Maison Citrohan title refers to the Citroen car and Corb’s idea of the house as a machine. Cars are rare in Vietnam, and motorbikes predominate. This reflects the ethos of getting by with less. Maison Vespa’s design reflects this way of living.

Da Nang is hot and humid during the majority of the year and maintaining interior thermal comfort is a challenge. To minimize the need for air conditioning, the architect shaded the house building envelope using a “parasol” roof, overhangs, and vertical louver screens. Natural ventilation is maximized by allowing cooling breezes to flow horizontally around and over the central core, and vertically up the stairwell to the roof.

The plan configuration is a hybrid of archaic (“Megaron” volume), early modern (“Domino” frame) and late modern (“Farnsworth” core). This was the result of the search for simplicity and essentialism. The house was generated less from formal design intentions, and more from a straightforward response to the functional and statutory conditions.

Concrete is poured-in-place into plywood forms. Electrical and plumbing runs are concealed below or within slabs and within masonry cavity walls. Insulated autoclaved aerated concrete cavity walls infill the concrete frame and help mitigate heat transfer. Tropical hardwood is used for sliding and louvered doors, furniture, and clerestory adjustable louver screens. The selection of materials was guided by a desire for a direct expression of their nature, to register the construction process, and provide durability and performance with reasonable cost.

The house design is inspired by Le Corbusier’s notion of the “standard element” or object trouvé. The house is seen as a tool (a means to an end, e.g., a Vespa motorbike), though not in a purely instrumental sense. Rather, it aspires to be a tool akin to a teacup used in a tea ceremony. That is, the house is proffered as a humble vessel to allow the unfolding of a ritual of the ordinary, that of a simple life.

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Maison Vespa

180, Bạch Đằng, Hải Châu, Đà Nẵng, Vietnam

Other Projects by David Rockwood, Architect

Maison Piaggio

Maison Vespa

180, Bạch Đằng, Hải Châu, Đà Nẵng, Vietnam

Product Spec Sheet

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