Origin: The tradition of a house set in a fruit garden is long-standing in many regions of Vietnam; the Hue garden house is a well-known form.
The garden house puts the garden at the centre: the house sits among fruit trees, ornamental plants, a small pond and brick paths. The idea is to live with nature, with wide verandas, doors opening to the garden and a low, comfortable tiled roof.
In the north, orient the house to catch the cool southeast summer breeze and screen the northeast winter wind with trees, walls or outbuildings. Raise the floor above the yard to avoid flooding, use deep eaves for shade and rain cover, and treat the veranda as a cool transitional space. Plant large trees well away from foundations, and choose wind-tolerant species on the humid coastal regions coast.
