Long An House 

Experience-based conceptualization

For some inevitable reasons and because we aslo want our son to experience new things, we usually take our very active and energetic little boy on our weekends business trips with us. Our little boy has gone to many constructions and since then created many of his own games.

We took him on tour to this garden house days after it had been lived. He was so excited as if it were his own house. This weekend getaway garden house is an integration of bedrooms and kitchen in a small house surrounded by a garden and a fish pond. It is an ideal place for such a boy. He and I were playing around the house, one chasing after another. His radiant face, his tirelessness and enthusiasm made me realize the way we designed this place allow him to do what he enjoyed most.

Site location

Site plan & Section

Takahuru Tezuka, the Japanese architect of the well-known Fuji Kindergarten, once said in a research that an average active kid can run up to 6000 meters a day. This was the inspiration for his circular architecture of Fuji Kindergarten. Knowing the fact is totally different from actually experiencing it. In this house, the simplicity and conciseness lie in the centered singular core of bedrooms, toilets and wardrobes, freeing up the surrounding spaces by eliminating doors and partitions. As a result, this offers unobstructed view of the garden and allows kids to run and play around the seemingly small house unrestrictedly and clutter-free with a freeing feeling.

This is how we think of architecture whose creativity doesn't merely come from theories and textbooks but also inherits from applied experiment and hands-on experience. You may possibly find the same inspiration for our next exclusively kid-friendly projects. In the end, my husband and I have to thank my son for his inspiring freshness.

Author: Hien Vo - Translation: Hao Quach.