perforated terracotta screens cool NAQ architecture’s breezy vĩnh long house

Tomas Kauer - News Writer and News ModeratorJuly 30, 20263 Mins read5 Views

perforated terracotta screens cool NAQ architecture’s breezy vĩnh long house thumbnail

recycled brick forms a second skin

Along a narrow plot in Vĩnh Long, Vietnam, NAQ Architecture fronts a family weekend house with a deep layer of recycled terracotta brick. The screen wraps the street elevation from the ground-level gate to the upper floor, framing recessed openings while giving the 150-square-meter building a warm, porous face. Sourced from the traditional brick-making village of Mang Thít, the clay units connect the house to a material industry already present in the region.

Set in front of an inner glazed enclosure, the perforated wall intercepts direct sun before it reaches the rooms and leaves a ventilated space between the two layers. Air can pass through the staggered joints, while the bricks break the tropical glare into smaller patches of light. Vines spill from the balcony behind the screen, and after sunset, the facade reads as a field of illuminated openings.

images © Paul Phan

light and air move through the narrow plan

Inside, the elongated footprint of NAQ Architecture‘s house opens around a tall void capped by a glazed roof to draw daylight into the center of the plan. Rust-colored stairs rise along its edge and connect upper-level walkways bordered by simple mesh railings. The open section lets views pass between floors and keeps the circulation exposed to air moving through the house.

Across the ground floor, the kitchen and dining area lead toward a living space with sliding glass doors opening onto a planted terrace. White walls reflect the overhead light, while terracotta-toned surfaces bring the exterior material palette indoors. Furniture remains low and sparse, leaving the long sightline through the house largely open.

recycled terracotta bricks form a porous outer layer across the street facade

the facade as an occupied threshold

Behind the street elevation, the brickwork creates deep outdoor rooms between the screen and the glazed interior. A broad upper balcony gains shade from the surrounding wall, while a lower terrace is enclosed by perforated brick and metal mesh. These spaces give the family contact with the humid air without exposing the rooms directly to the strongest sun.

Throughout the day, sunlight passes through the rotated bricks and throws changing grids across the terrace floor and interior walls. The screen gives the facade depth at close range, where individual units shift between solid areas and open joints. Its environmental role stays visible because shade and breeze can be felt from the spaces immediately behind it.

a deep balcony sits behind the screen beneath a frame of solid brick

a weekend house shaped by tropical conditions

Commissioned by owners based in Ho Chi Minh City, the house serves as a place for family weekends in Vĩnh Long. NAQ Architecture gives much of the interior volume to shared rooms and open circulation, while upper-level spaces remain visually connected through the central void. Planting appears along the facade and within the terraces, extending the climate strategy into spaces where the family can sit outside under cover.

Within a compact urban type, Vĩnh Long House uses a small set of passive moves with direct spatial effects. The double brick skin shades the glazing, while the open section helps daylight and air reach deeper into the plan. Its strongest idea stays visible from the street: the facade filters the climate before it reaches the rooms, turning a familiar local material into the main environmental device of the house.

vines fall across the upper opening and soften the geometric facade