- Project: NGÂU House
- Architect: Limdim House Studio
- Location: Vietnam
- Year: 2023
- Area: 80 m2
- Photography: Do Sy
Concept & Context
The NGÂU House takes its name from the “ngâu” tree — a species noted for its small leaves, vigorous vitality and elegant beauty. Positioned within a small alley in a community of university professors, the house negotiates between the densely-built context and the desire for novelty, yet seeks harmony rather than disruption.
The design strategy is grounded in respect for the existing fabric of the neighbourhood — neither fully contemporary nor leftover from an earlier era — but something that bridges memory, materiality and place.
Architecture & Spatial Organisation
Given the constraints of the narrow alley footprint, the project begins with careful planning of the circulation and construction logistics to minimise disruption. A key spatial gesture is the introduction of reclaimed elements — old doors reused within the home’s fabric, paired with modern interventions — lending the house a layered sense of history and texture.
Inside, the spatial arrangement carefully balances openness and intimacy. While detailed floor plans are less extensively published, the material palette and layout signal an intention to create tactile, human-scaled spaces rather than expansive volumes. The reuse of vernacular materials, intimate scale and narrow alley condition all contribute to this modest domestic architecture.
Materiality & Atmosphere
The material strategy is rich and nuanced:
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Warm earthy palette: Brown, earthy-orange tones, and the red hues of fired clay tiles dominate.
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Textile and weaving touches: Linen and bamboo mesh curtains introduce a raw, natural softness to the interiors.
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Tiles and pattern: Glazed ceramic tiles in shades of green with ethnic patterning on the exterior combine with a front yard of raw clay brick, creating contrasts of rustic and refined.
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Reuse & craft: Old doors are incorporated, celebrating craftsmanship and continuity of use.
Together these elements evoke nostalgia, tactility and rootedness, while also delivering a home that is contemporary in function and experience.
Place & Social Dimension
Because the house sits within a collective residential fabric with a strong communal character, the architects intentionally avoid an architecture that stands apart. Instead, NGÂU House engages in subtle insertion: it honours the neighbourhood’s character while quietly evolving it.
In doing so, the project becomes a bridge between personal memory, communal life and material realism — a home that both belongs and stands on its own terms.
Why It Matters
For an architecture-journal audience, NGÂU House offers an exemplar of how modest scale, careful material choices and contextual sensitivity can produce a meaningful domestic architecture. It reminds us that innovation need not always be grand‐scale or dramatic: here the innovation is in the detail, the reuse, the sensitivity to place and the crafting of memory into living form.
In a Vietnamese urbanising context — narrow lots, alleyways, existing neighbourhood fabrics — the project becomes a model of how to regenerate without erasing, how to upgrade without alienating, and how to live lightly while meaningfully.
