2019 Tran Boi Linh Nguyen - Grandma’s House

If my grandma moved to Maastricht, what type of house I should design for her?

Based on grandma’s daily activities, I know what kind of space she needs (if she needs a terrace with chair to spend her time there enjoys the nature, a fireplace like the one she has in her house now, water tank outside the house for washing like she usually does; if she needs to garden or raise cattle…), what functions I should include in my design to achieve a comfortable and balance life.

But those things above are just my imagination, she would never move here. So what should I call this scenario? Is what I think factual or fictional?

Because this is a house designed for my grandmother, I’m inspired by the house she’s staying at, which highlights the value of terrace, yard, garden, water... Therefore, when I bring this design to the location in Maastricht, people will realize that this is a house from another culture, that it’s residents carries within them completely different perception and ways of living compare to culture and life of this city’s inhabitants. So the question is how to connect this house with the nature that already exist around it.

The house is partly integrated into ground and surrounded by greenery as if it is hidden in between the nature because I don’t want to make the house that much visible, I would like to create the feeling that the house exists here but it seems not to be here: the house will not block our view, it lies flickeringly behind trees, we need to go through garden to approach the entrance. It is like I design this house for my grandma to live in, however, it is just my imagination and she would never actually live here.



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