The Brick Cave has two layers of porous brick walls that keep the house secure but open to the outside world at all times. 

The house, located in the rural district of Dong Anh in the capital city, was built in 2007 on a 300-square-meter plot. Its outer wall has several porous patterns that give it an unusual openness to the outer world while offering full security to its inhabitants. Photo by Archdaily/Nguyen Tien Thanh.

At an awards ceremony organized by the Architects Regional Council Asia (ARCASIA) in Bangladesh earlier this month, the house, designed by architect Doan Thanh Ha, was chosen the more creative single family residential project. Earlier, it had won the Barbara Cappochin International Architecture Prize and the Council of Architects, Planners, Landscapers and Conservationists of Padua, Italy. Photo by Archdaily/Nguyen Tien Thanh.

According to the architect, the 'Brick Cave' has two layers of walls, one angled, creating an atrium-like space. The exposed bricks were chosen because they are local material and popular in rural areas. Photo by Archdaily/Nguyen Tien Thanh.

The design provides the house with an extra layer of security. Its marble floors enhance of the sunlight that comes in through the porous walls. Photo by Archdaily/Nguyen Tien Thanh.

The rooms in the house are connected with one another through creatively arranged apertures without doors. Photo by Archdaily/Nguyen Tien Thanh.

A roof garden crowns the sloping roof of the outer wall. Photo by Archdaily/Nguyen Tien Thanh.

The porous walls that allow plenty of sunlight and air help "blur the boundaries between house and street, humans and nature," the architect explained. Photo by Archdaily/Nguyen Tien Thanh.