Sectional drawing
The hopper motif is repeated in interior details such as door handles, wall tiles, and sinks.
From these two balconies, one can look down at the top of the tree in the middle of the enclosed garden.
A facade of slate stone and warm wood gives the house a rustic, Southeast Asian character, while high, arched ceilings, and clean lines open up the interior spaces.
From the living area, floating stairs lead up to the second and third floor, which were designed as two compact levels stacked above the "wooden house" volume on the ground floor.
Passing through a patio and entranceway, one enters an open-plan living and dining area with ceilings that dip towards the four glass walls of the small interior garden.
"We did not simply copy traditional elements for Hopper House, but used them as input to analyze, arrange, and create the program for the new house," says Hung.
Hung Dao, founder of AHL, designed the patios, thresholds, inner yards, and roofs with proportions that echo those of traditional Northern Vietnamese dwellings, but updated them to improve functionality.
At the back of the living area is a volume shaped like a wooden house, which contains the kitchen, storage space, and a bedroom.
On the ground floor of the three-level house is a front yard and parking area with a few tall trees.
All the decade-old trees within and around the existing house were retained.
You'd never designed for special needs children before the Bancroft residence, how did you interpret the clients' needs?
Jack Hawkins, architect: I would like to say I did tons of research, but I didn't. I went with the parents' lead. I took most of my design cues from them. They're the immediate caregivers, they know their children and about autism. They did all the research and told me what was important.