Text description provided by the architects. Located in Dien Khanh, a district bordering Nha Trang city to the west, DB Horizon is a garden house built to replace the old, deteriorated house that has been associated with a lot of beautiful memories. Despite many difficulties in terms of budget and local construction resources, we have managed to create a house that not only preserves traditional spiritual values but also adapts to today’s modern lifestyle.
Dien Khanh is about 10 kilometers from the center of Nha Trang City. In contrast to the rush and modern lifestyle of Nha Trang coastal city, Dien Khanh is a place with a slow pace of life, with the natural beauty of charming mountains and rivers. In addition to the beauty of extremely rich nature, this place is also associated with many architectural works and long-standing historical stories. The house is located in a village with low construction density, the surrounding buildings are all rural houses with perennial orchards. With a reasonable distance from the sea and Suoi Dau River in the south, the cool temperature and prevailing winds from the sea and river are a huge advantage for the site.
The design request is a house with common and private spaces completely separate from each other. In addition, from the living room, their guests can not see through the family living space. The kitchen, dining room, and family room are airy and connected to each other, suitable for family parties. In addition to these requirements, watching the changing landscape of the countryside from above is an activity that has been closely associated with the family’s tradition; it needs to be further developed and included in the project program. This spiritual element has been part of the history of the site since the formation of the first house. Looking out at the scenery from above, people gather together, and stories or memories, whether happy or sad, are filled with unforgettable emotions.
Based on these conditions mentioned above, we propose a program that includes functional areas with separate entrances for visitors. The ground floor has bedrooms and a garage. The first floor is designed as a traditional living space, including a living room, worship space, kitchen, dining room, common room, and a terrace. The thick metal roof with a moderate slope extends a lot on the facade to prevent rain and avoid direct sunlight into the house while creating a transitional space connecting two floors.
Instead of entering the house directly, the guests will walk up an outside staircase that leads to the living room and an outdoor terrace on the first floor. The living room is separated from the family’s common living space by a cluster of functional blocks, including a worship space, kitchen, toilet, and a small storage. The first floor is completely surrounded by windows that can be opened when necessary, creating a 360-degree view. On the first floor, the surrounding landscape can be viewed from any functional space. The opened first floor, first floor terrace, and the transitional space in the ground floor are three elements connected together by an outside staircase, forming a continuous space with a ceiling height gradually decreasing from bottom to top, creating an interesting experience of space when moving.
An internal staircase for family members, connecting the bedrooms on the ground floor to the first floor. The bedrooms are fully equipped with modern amenities, giving the feeling of a safe refuge with a completely different view of the surrounding garden in each room. All spaces in the house are naturally ventilated by a wooden louver system with an opening above. In addition, stretching along the East-West axis also increases the ability to catch the wind for the project.
Our innovative design proposals help to realize a space with a traditional lifestyle but with a modern look. The house is like a contemporary living space with full natural elements such as sunlight, wind, water, plantings, and especially unlimited views of the landscape and the horizon, which will be transformed into urban areas in the near future.
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Cite: “DB Horizon House / SAL” 04 Mar 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed .
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