More and more green architecture awards have been given to buildings in Vietnam, a refection of the country's effort to develop construction works friendly to the environment.
According to the Vietnam Green Building Council (VGBC), there are 61 green works in Vietnam, a modest figure compared with 2,100 projects in Singapore and 500 in Taiwan.
However, chair of the HCMC Architect Association Nguyen Truong Luu said that green architecture is be becoming more and more popular in Vietnam
Every country in the world sets specific criteria for green works to fit environmental standards.
‘Green architecture’ was first mentioned in the 1980s and has become a trend in modern architecture. In Vietnam, the concept was only mentioned in the first years of the 21st century.
According to the Vietnam Architect Association, ‘green architecture’ uses materials friendly to the environment, linking human and the nature. They must not pollute the living environment and save energy resources.
More and more green architecture awards have been given to buildings in Vietnam, a refection of the country's effort to develop construction works friendly to the environment.
According to Luu, green works use unburned bricks to reduce energy consumption, while LED lights are used instead of incandescent, neon and compact lights. LED lights have electricity consumption 1/10 of other lamps.
Vo Trong Nghia is known as the Vietnamese architect who has the highest number of international architecture awards, including awards for green works. The famous architect once said on CNN that HCMC may become the second ‘garden city’ in Asia, after Singapore.
In the conditions of small living areas and dense population, green architecture is the best solution for modern new urban areas. Therefore, in his design, Nghia always strives for green construction works which use safe, energy-saving and environmentally-friendly materials.
Nghia won a first prize in green architecture for his design of FPT University headquarters.
The building has seven stories with usable area of 11,065 square meters. The alternating greenery parts shield the building from direct sun, while still ensuring sufficient natural light, thus saving electricity consumption. The design also gives the building natural wind ventilation.
Nghia is also known for the design of Atlas Hotel in Hoi An, Naman Retreat Resort, and Farming Kindergarten in Dong Nai province which was praised by Archdaily.
Hoang Thuc Hao is another Vietnamese architect famous for green design. He received the SIA-Getz Architecture 2016 award.
Vietnam received five awards in green architecture at BCI Asia Awards 2016, held recently at InterContinental Asiana Saigon in HCMC.