Vinh Dao

The project proposes social housing based on indeterminate living spaces, defined only by the inhabitants. Each dwelling comprises of compartments loosely divided by sliding partitions, and a central kitchen acting as the anchor of the home, with all movement and activity channelled around it. Dwellings from 1.5 to 6.5 rooms are supported and up to 7.5 are possible with rentable joker rooms. The dwelling typologies also provide a selection of single-floor apartments, double-floor townhouses and up to triple-floor maisonettes, all with their own luxuries to suit any living preference and price range.

Public interiors such as a coffee shop, library and workshops cap the ground floor of each complex acting as central nodes for the community and collective activity. The ground floor also provides public facilities such as bike parking and laundry rooms.

Low-embodied carbon mass-timber frames and durable concrete cores make up the structure. Cheap and industrial materials such as galvanised steel, fibre-reinforced polymer and polycarbonate clad the exterior while more homely materials bring a sense of warmth into the interiors. Layers of translucent materials filter light into dwellings. With clerestory windows, sliding doors and most importantly, dual orientation, dwellings are permeable from the south end to the north. Living and architectural expression are all based on varying levels of diaphaneity and permeability, from fully solid to diaphanous to fully transparent.