Nguyen’s APT

The design brief is for a compact 75 m² apartment for a young couple in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City — a dynamic, modern, and rapidly evolving urban context. This prompted us to pursue a trend-setting aesthetic for the younger generation, drawing on the Avant-Garde ethos—more specifically, the Dark-wear style. From this inspiration, the scheme is driven by a minimalist, contemporary spirit, articulated through a monochrome palette of black and white.

To counteract any sense of confinement in such a modest footprint, almost all solid partition walls have been eliminated and replaced with expanses of glazing in varied shapes and configurations. The living area and bedroom are defined by operable glass partitions that can seamlessly merge the apartment into one unified volume, yet provide privacy as needed. The home office and bathroom employ curved glass panels and glass block walls, introducing a soft, tactile quality while maximizing daylight penetration and conveying an elevated sense of luxury.

All technical installations and structural components are meticulously concealed within custom wall and box modules of diverse geometries, creating moments of visual intrigue and a restrained sculptural quality throughout the interior.

Beyond the dominant black-and-white scheme, we’ve layered in warmer accents of timber and leather furnishings. These natural materials not only infuse the space with a sense of warmth but also temper the inherent austerity of the minimalist language.

Just as fashion can direct our emotions and perceptions, architecture too shapes the way we live and feel — whether we’re wearing an outfit or inhabiting a space. With this apartment, our intent is to convey a lifestyle that is modern, bold, and elegantly pared back.