Articles by Miwa Negoro

Sadec Garden is a small-scale accommodation project newly designed and located in the flower village of Sa Đéc, Đồng Tháp, Vietnam. The project is approached as a quiet place of temporary stay, where architecture does not seek visual prominence but operates as a background for landscape, light, and local daily life. Rather than pursuing expressive forms, the design adopts an attitude of restraint, focusing on spatial organization, experiential sequence, and a soft relationship between architecture and the riverine context of Sa Đéc.

Heritage sites constitute complex spatial archives in which architecture, history, and collective memory converge. They encompass a wide spectrum of contexts—from archaeological remains, ancient and historic townscapes, UNESCO-listed landscapes, to early modern civic structures and industrial infrastructures. Yet these environments confront challenges: climate change, urban transformation, disaster, shifting social needs, and the gradual erosion of material fabric. Revitalization and restoration projects respond to these conditions by positioning architectural and spatial practice as an active mediator between preservation and the contemporary topologies.

Heritage sites constitute complex spatial archives in which architecture, history, and collective memory converge. They encompass a wide spectrum of contexts—from archaeological remains, ancient and historic townscapes, UNESCO-listed landscapes, to early modern civic structures and industrial infrastructures. Yet these environments confront challenges: climate change, urban transformation, disaster, shifting social needs, and the gradual erosion of material fabric. Revitalization and restoration projects respond to these conditions by positioning architectural and spatial practice as an active mediator between preservation and the contemporary topologies.

In Vietnam’s accelerating urbanization, particularly in Ho Chi Minh City, the proliferation of new residential quarters has alleviated acute housing shortages yet frequently perpetuated obsolete typologies. Many developments recycle standardized house models from two to three decades past, failing to address contemporary demands adequately for spatial comfort, natural ventilation, daylight penetration, aesthetic sophistication, and personalized habitation.

In Vietnam’s accelerating urbanization, particularly in Ho Chi Minh City, the proliferation of new residential quarters has alleviated acute housing shortages yet frequently perpetuated obsolete typologies. Many developments recycle standardized house models from two to three decades past, failing to address contemporary demands adequately for spatial comfort, natural ventilation, daylight penetration, aesthetic sophistication, and personalized habitation.

Double Side House is a climate-responsive contemporary residence that redefines the relationship between openness, privacy, and landscape within the humid forest context of northern Iran.

This house was designed and built on the same plot of land as the extended family’s residence to provide privacy for a new family unit. Beyond aligning the building with natural sunlight and wind directions, the form of the house emerged as a direct response to the unique conditions of the site. By tilting the building along the land boundary, we maximized usable space while introducing a courtyard that not only enhances functionality but also captures the prevailing southwest wind. This design transforms the courtyard into a natural ventilation gateway that allows airflow throughout the day.

This house was designed and built on the same plot of land as the extended family’s residence to provide privacy for a new family unit. Beyond aligning the building with natural sunlight and wind directions, the form of the house emerged as a direct response to the unique conditions of the site. By tilting the building along the land boundary, we maximized usable space while introducing a courtyard that not only enhances functionality but also captures the prevailing southwest wind. This design transforms the courtyard into a natural ventilation gateway that allows airflow throughout the day.

Can a house feel as if it has always been there? At the end of the open fields, between the trees, under the blue skies, built out of the earth. Can a house be like a verse, a philosophy, a way of life— of lyrical moments, poetic narratives, sensory experiences?