T House
What you really need in a townhouse?
You may probably come across a thought that why the bedrooms are so small and there are plenty of passageways and voids. What a waste! To be honest, I was frustrated and confused with open and flexible brief from the client, which was not usually what we would expect. We are so used to make every square inch count since an inch of soil is an inch of gold. A seemingly easy project posed a question: how come do we need too many rooms in a house?
When I was 15, I was so thrilled to have my own room in a townhouse that my parents had put all of their savings into. I didn't enjoy my privacy too long when I had to sleep with my parents because back then I was a little kid afraid of ghosts and so used to sleeping with them though. The house was praised by everyone for being so spacious, which was a pain to clean. My dad had to make parts of the house storage for unnecessary stuff. They had to sell their cluster when they moved into a 73-square-meter apartment in Saigon with their sister. She said in relief: how easy it is to clean, it's enough for living.
Like many young married couples, my husband and I were living in a rent house. In 7 years living together, we moved from place to place such as: apartment, studio apartment, townhouse, rent house with and without the passageway shared with the landlord with various area. Constantly moving house, we learned a lot about what "enough" really means and started to practice minimalism lifestyle, which is very beneficial to our job. Our current studio apartment is just 25 square meters. "This is just enough" said my husband in relief.
I suddenly came across an research article about Hoian townhouse architecture and realized there were'nt too many rooms in the traditional townhouse. I'm not entirely sure since when this mentality was adopted and skeptical of its suitability and practicality. Once again, if you're still concerned about your children's independence and privacy, think of Japanese traditional houses, they still sleep together as a family in some cases just with a few partitions. The thing is that Japanese people are very independent and respect the privacy of others. Just think about it.
We only came to see the values of our design after its completion. Well-ventilated and sunlit shared areas made up for the small bedrooms. These voids allowed the house to "breath"
How much of an effort you need to spare to clean the house? How much is enough for you to both relax and do a little exercise around the house? Are all the efforts and the hardwork you put into the house able to compensate for the peace of our mind? Or Are you getting more burdens? More often than not, we mistake means for goals, wants for needs. Is your house enough? What else do you want to be happy?
Everyone should question themselves to clarify what is enough and what they really need. As a matter of fact, there is a fine line between what you need and what you want. To clear it up, you should ask yourself whether whatever you have in mind can make a difference in your life or not.
After all, the quality of spaces behind those walls will define what makes a great place to live in. It's what you will be enjoying years after years. In the end, you'll see what bothers you the most is not what you have but what you don't really want in your life.
Author: Hien Vo - Translation: Hao Quach
| Location | 27 Str. |
| Building Type | Townhouse |
| Area | 253.2 m2 |
| Architects | Km Architecture Office |
| Year | 2017 |