Vietnam architecture studio ROOM+ Design & Build has carried out a dramatic renovation of a small house and shop in Ho Chi Minh City by replacing its walls with glass bricks.
Named Glass Brick Micro House, the small home in Vietnam has been shortlisted for residential rebirth project of the year at Dezeen Awards 2020.
ROOM+ Design & Build made the house's walls from glass bricks
ROOM+ Design & Build renovated the small property that occupies an 18-square-metre plot on a side street in Ho Chi Minh City, to create a shop with a two-storey home above.
To enliven the house and bring light into the small structure, the architecture studio removed the walls on its two street-facing facades and replaced them with glass bricks.
The house is on a side street in Ho Chi Minh City "The old house was partly damaged, abandoned and very dark inside," explained ROOM+ Design & Build founder Vinh Phuc Ta.
"The design brief asked for an affordable and artistic renovation to accommodate the owners' small leather shop and living space with two bedrooms," he continued.
"The core design concept of the project is using glass-block, a unique and uncommon material, to replace the old brick facades in combination with space-saving and flexible interior space."
A shop is on the ground floor
According to the studio, the translucent glass bricks allow light into the property while giving the inhabitants privacy.
"The translucent glass-block facad...