- Project: House for Young Families 01
- Architect: HH Studio
- Location: Vietnam, Da Nang
- Year: 2023
- Area: 204 m2
- Photography: Hoang Le
A Post-Pandemic Home Designed for Flexibility and Connection
In Da Nang’s expanding residential districts, H-H Studio has designed House for Young Families 01 — a forward-thinking residence that reflects how domestic life has evolved in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Designed for a young family of four who both live and work remotely, this compact home redefines the modern Vietnamese dwelling as a multifunctional living system: a place for rest, work, learning, play, and cultivation.
With a modest budget and footprint, the house demonstrates how thoughtful architecture can provide flexibility, comfort, and connection to nature, even on a 5×21-meter urban lot.
Concept & Post-Pandemic Context
The project forms part of H-H Studio’s broader “Houses for Young Families” initiative, exploring how architecture can adapt to social changes brought on by remote work, climate awareness, and shifting lifestyle needs.
The architects approached this project as a prototype for resilient, tropical living — integrating passive environmental strategies with spatial adaptability.
In the words of the architects:
“The family house is no longer just a place to live; it is a place to work, study, exercise, and communicate — a space for every human activity.”
Form & Environmental Logic
The home’s structure is defined by an inverted U-shaped plan, open to the southeast to capture prevailing winds and morning light. Three interwoven garden voids create layers of openness within the compact site, ensuring that every interior space connects directly to greenery and daylight.
This configuration also reduces construction density to less than 50% (≈46 m²), maximizing air circulation and visual porosity.
The design’s hierarchy of volumes responds to orientation and climate:
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The higher rear block shields the house from harsh western sun and northwest storm winds.
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The lower front block allows light and airflow to penetrate deeply into the interior courtyard, encouraging natural cooling and ventilation.
This passive approach minimizes energy demand while maintaining year-round comfort in Da Nang’s tropical conditions.
Spatial Organization & Program
Within its compact footprint, House for Young Families 01 organizes daily life into a vertical sequence of adaptable layers:
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Ground Floor:
The front porch acts as a multi-functional space — welcoming guests, serving as a workspace, a play area for children, or even parking at night. It opens into the dining and kitchen area, which visually connects through the house to the rear garden. Together, these spaces form a 63 m² open zone that integrates indoor and outdoor life. -
Work & Study Room:
A 3.8×1.8 m flexible room serves as a focused workspace for online meetings. When not in use, it can transform for reading, play, or quiet reflection, adapting easily to family rhythms. -
Mezzanine Level:
The main bedroom is positioned to overlook the entire house, maintaining visual connection between parents and children while ensuring privacy. The two children’s bedrooms are arranged for comfort and natural light, fostering independence within proximity.
The plan encourages visual connectivity and interaction, reinforcing the home’s central idea: architecture as a medium for family connection.
Materiality & Expression
The architecture embraces a minimalist and functional aesthetic, focusing on climatic performance and structural clarity rather than ornamentation.
The use of exposed concrete, painted brick, and metal frames ensures durability within a modest budget, while greenery, terraces, and open balconies soften the industrial palette and blur the line between house and landscape.
Inside, a bright, clean palette amplifies natural light and cross-ventilation, emphasizing the studio’s belief that “a clean environment is the beginning of a healthy family life.”
Adaptability, Economy & Sustainability
Designed with a budget of 1.7 billion VND (~70,000 USD), the project prioritizes investment in core spatial quality — structure, ventilation, and light — while allowing furniture and garden “software” to evolve over time according to the family’s resources.
This approach demonstrates how affordability and sustainability can coexist, relying on design intelligence rather than expensive technologies.
By embracing the tropical climate rather than resisting it, the house becomes a passive environmental machine — ventilated, shaded, and green.
House for Young Families 01 by H-H Studio is more than a home; it is a manifesto for living differently in the 21st century.
Through its layered gardens, adaptable spaces, and climate-smart structure, the project redefines the Vietnamese family home for a post-pandemic generation — a home that is flexible, connected, and profoundly human.
