Townhouse in Saigon

For this townhouse in Ho Chi Minh City MM++ architects turns the shutters, typical of the colonial architecture, into a single timber shutter, with a folding-up opening system.

MM++ architects, Townhouse with a folding-up shutter, district 7, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

This house is located in district 7 in Saigon, on a busy street.

The plot is 4m wide X 17m deep. The streets in Vietnamese city centers are vibrant, full of life and these shophouses are part of that urban landscape, where boundaries between the public and the private are blurry. This project proposes a minimalistic and contemporary approach of the traditional shophouse typology.

Like a typical Vietnamese townhouse, the front part of the ground floor is potentially dedicated to business activity during the day, fully open onto the sidewalk, while it’s also used as the owner’s residence. The traditional shutters, typical of the Southeast Asian colonial architecture, have been turned into a more industrial design single timber shutter, with a folding-up opening system.

When it’s open, it creates a sunshade for the front space. When it’s closed, it still allows permanent ventilation. The house is composed of 4 floors. A large skylight in the back brings natural lighting to every rooms and bathrooms. In combination, the front louvers with the open skylight allow permanent cross ventilation through the house. In contrast with the ground floor, the bedrooms are grouped in a suspended volume inside the main space. The interior design is a mix of raw materials, minimalistic and industrial elements.