Home in Vietnam

22 of September '23

House in Vietnam, Vietnam

Photo: Hoang Le © ngo+pasierbiński

...

Article taken from A&B issue 7-8|23

What are the biggest design challenges for single-family home architecture today?

House in Vietnam, Vietnam - proj.: ngo+pasierbiński

Photo: Hoang Le © ngo+pasierbiński

Design based on sincerity towards art, craft, material, context and user is timeless. It has the potential not only to shape the environment we live in, but also to inspire and evoke emotion. Architecture, spelled with a capital "A" that stands the test of time, becomes a bridge between generations and often even cross-culturally.

House in Vietnam, Vietnam - proj.: ngo+pasierbiński

Photo: Hoang Le © ngo+pasierbiński

In the sea of challenges facing today's architecture, there are two that I would like to focus on, and which we have embedded as the core of our spatial explorations at ngo+ pasierbiński studio.

House in Vietnam, Vietnam - proj.: ngo+pasierbiński

photo: Hoang Le © ngo+pasierbiński

The relationship between inside and outside and between man and the environment

Thanks to technological inventions, the rhythm of human life has become completely independent of the rhythm of our planet. We spend most of our lives in spaces with full climate control, from our homes to our cars to our workplaces. We have lost our daily contact with nature. Thoughtful and sensitive architecture has the ability to reconnect humans with the rhythms of nature. Both the daily and seasonal ones. A house can become a device for observing natural cycles and phenomena. Architecture has the ability to amplify the nuances and phenomena of nature, the passage of time as measured by the seasons, the angle of incident light or the natural aging of materials. Properly designed, it can restore the starry sky as a permanent feature of our night landscape. Houses need not only isolate the user from the outside world, they can be a link between the two - a portal. A device to decode our immediate universe and translate it into a language we can understand and delight in.

House in Vietnam, Vietnam - proj.: ngo+pasierbiński

The architectural identity of a place and the quality of the space

Architecture that understands and respects the local microclimate, urban, natural and cultural context has a unique character and its own identity. This is a value that is slowly disappearing with globalization, and thus becoming rarer and more valuable. The next aspect is the quality of the space. Properly designed, it evokes emotions that move deeply. It does not merely respond to immediate needs, functionality or pragmatism - it aspires much higher - it inspires. It makes us change our behavior and overcome our own habits. It helps to free ourselves from top-down patterns. It allows us to experience more fully.