Bát Tràng, Vietnam

Vo Trong Nghia and his design team conceived of this new house with a façade that represents the community’s unique culture of ceramic pottery making.

The project is situated in a unique location of Bat Trang Town – a pottery village that has been around for more than ten decades.

This house is a place that embraces the hope and dream of the client. It’s the place for business where family’s traditional products are sold.

It’s also the place for living of his entire 7 family members, and for gathering friends and relatives to enjoy all kinds of activities together, such as cooking, enjoying nature, playing etc.

While the exterior was inspired by the traditional beauty of the town, the interior ensured the convenience and comfort of today’s modern life.

The spatial arrangement of the house was also based on the owner’s ideal home, where nature intertwines with other functions of the house.

The brief of the project was to design a home for a seven-member family and a place for relative get-togethers.

Besides its residential uses, Bat Trang House also functions as a shop, trading the traditional ceramic products of the pottery town.

In the cultural-rich context of the village, using local materials was prioritized by the design team.

Additionally, the owner was a ceramic specialist, hence VTN Architects were able to take advantage of the material.

Ceramic has its own rough aesthetic and high durability, which was suitable for the exterior skin of the building.

The entire façade of the design was made purely out of ceramic bricks.

The bricks were individually made to size to create the alternating rhythm, opening up in some spaces while closing in others.

The small gaps created by the bricks placement act as vents, circulating the air throughout the building.

Whereas the big openings of the façade situated sizable greeneries, allowing filtered light the flow through.

Project: Bát Tràng House
Architects: Vo Trong Nghia Co. Ltd.
Design Team: Vo Trong Nghia, Ngo Thuy Duong, Nguyen Van An, Do Huu Tam, Pham, and Phuong Thao
Client: Private
Photographers: Hiroyuki Oki