丨越南丨ARO studio

Architects:ARO studio

Area:1000ft²

Year:2025

Photographs:Hoang Le

Manufacturers:Rolandoor Glass

Lead Architects:Dang Minh Trong, Tan Nguyen, Duc Nguyen, Minh Nguyen

Category:Houses

Lead Team:Dang Minh Trong

Design Team:Tan Nguyen, Duc Nguyen, Minh Nguyen, Hieu Le

City:Bắc Giang

Country:Vietnam

Text description provided by the architects. Tropical House 2 is conceived as a vertical village for an extended family, where architecture, greenery, and shared domestic life are interwoven into a living ecosystem that responds to the tropical climate.

The project is located at No.1 Hung Vuong Street in Bac Giang City, Vietnam, on a corner site within a dense residential neighborhood. With an east-facing main façade and a long side oriented to the north, the site offers favorable conditions for natural light and ventilation, while also presenting challenges related to heat control and privacy in an urban context. The client envisioned a home for a large two-generation family with nine children and grandchildren—one that could support collective living while still allowing individual spaces and long-term adaptability.

The roof is treated as a second living ground, where green roofs and outdoor spaces extend the landscape vertically. This green layer improves thermal performance, regulates the microclimate, and retains rainwater, while also providing shared spaces for family activities. Interwoven throughout the architectural volume is a system of planted atriums and skylights, allowing daylight and natural airflow to penetrate deep into the interior. These voids promote cross-ventilation and stack-effect cooling, while also serving as visual connectors that strengthen relationships between floors and across generations.

Rather than functioning as a conventional single-family residence, Tropical House 2 proposes a model of tropical living rooted in coexistence. Through layered massing, green roofs, and interlaced atriums, the house becomes a spatial framework where family life, nature, and the urban environment are brought together in a balanced and sustainable whole.

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