BUILDING A BETTER WORLD

SAVING THE WORLD through ARCHITECTURE is the main theme at this year’s edition of the annual Singapore Archifest (archifest.sg), which takes place from now until end of this month. Yanni Tan finds out more from three international speakers on the KEY CONC

Three international Singapore Archifest speakers lead us into the future

建设更美好未来

GREEN ARCHITECTURE

Vo Trong Nghia, VTN Architects, Vietnam

“The approach champions building structures that minimise the harmful effects on the environment and human health, by choosing eco-friendly building materials and construction practices that help safeguard our natural resources. To me, green architecture also means to live armoniously with nature.

When I was growing up in my hometown in Vietnam, I lived in a village where there was no electricity, until I was 21 years old. When you’re in the heat, and the temperature is around 40 deg C, the shade from trees, water and ventilation are essential. That’s one of the reasons why I love trees and nature, and I still incorporate these elements in my designs.

The best way is to make the most use of natural energy. This can be done by using good ventilation to replace air conditioning, as I do in my home and office space, as well as recycling water or using solar panels to maximise the utility of what nature offers. A major part of green urban living is also incorporating green practices into our daily lives.

As part of our House for Trees project, we worked to incorporate green spaces into a city like Ho Chi Minh. Cities in Vietnam have diverged far away from their origins as rampant tropical forests, with only 0.25 per cent of the entire city being covered by greenery – our project is an effort to change that.

One of our prototypical houses, consisting of five concrete boxes, each housing a different programme, were designed as ‘pots’ to plant trees on their tops. These ‘pots’ also function as storm-water basins for detention and retention, thereby helping to reduce the risk of flooding in the city when the concept is applied to more houses in the future.”

绿色建筑

Vo Trong Nghia 越南VTN Architects “建设能够把对环境与人体健康伤害减至最低的建筑物，采用善待环境的建筑材料和建造方式，捍卫大自然资源。对我来说，绿色建筑也意味着与自然和谐相处。

我在越南老家的成长岁月，21岁以前都住在没有电源的村子里。天气热时，气温上升到摄氏40度，树荫、水和通风都是必需。这是我热爱大树与大自然的一个原因，至今还把这些元素纳入设计中。

最好的做法是尽量使用天然能源。一个方式是以良好的通风系统取代冷气空调，我的住家与办公室都是如此。还有，使用再循环水或太阳能板，充分取自大自然。绿色都市生活还有一个重要环节：把节能方式，纳入日常生活中。

我们的‘树木之家’项目，把绿色空间纳入像胡志明市这样的城市。越南的很多城市已偏离了原本的热带森林环境，整个城市只有大约0.25%的绿色覆盖率。我们的项目希望能改变这点。

我们的一个房屋原型，包含五个混凝土箱，每个代表一个不同的计划。箱子设计成花盆，上面种植树木。这些盆子也可作为收集雨水的水盆，一旦广泛使用于更多房屋，可减少城市里的水患。”