Adaptable Architecture: Floating Homes in Vietnam

Adaptable Architecture: Floating Homes in Vietnam

An Analysis of Blooming Bamboo Home by H&P Architects

Introduction:

The notion of permanency in architecture has shaped how the built environment has been constructed for centuries. This fixation has forced designers to depend heavily on a limited resource of concrete, wood, and steel while diverging them from more sustainable methods. The practice of using concrete in the built environment has played a key role in fortifying permanent architecture, with the earliest known usage dating back to 6500 BCE in Syria and Jordan with traders applying the material to create floors, buildings and underground cisterns. The obsession with concrete only grew in the 19th Century when the invention of reinforced concrete allowed for the construction of the first reinforced concrete bridge. This moment marked the beginning of a modern world, with reinforced concrete allowing for the construction of high rises, apartment buildings and dams. The separation of man to nature ensued. The production of concrete has determined the size and potential of buildings, even becoming its own principle for architecture during the mid 20th century’s Brutalism era. As shown in Figure 1, the global cement production has only risen since the 1970’s. This rise also led to a bigger production of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with about 8% of all carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere being from cement alone.

A built environment constructed from the promise of permanency has led to a battle against nature itself. Rather than adapting to the climate in which they are at, architects have designed buildings that rely on heating, cooling and lighting to maintain a neutral environment, causing buildings to contribute to nearly 40% of all carbon emissions, as shown in graph 2.

This is not sustainable. Change must be made in how the built environment is constructed. This paper will be a critique on the experimental design of the Blooming Bamboo Home by H&P Architects, a sustainable, low cost, and multi-family home designed to adapt to the climate of Vietnam. This design combats the historically dominant concrete, steel and iron structures brought by a hundred years of French colonisation that replaced the bamboo, leaves and wooden homes from times past. These decorative Neoclassical and Art Deco, or “New French Style” buildings dominated cosmopolitan Vietnam, highlighting the upper class and its transition to modernity. However, with rising temperatures, worsening droughts and floods, and increased frequency in storms because of climate change, Vietnam must look towards more adaptable architecture and a sustainable built environment capable of handling disasters. The Blooming Bamboo Home by H&P Architects is an attempt at vernacular architecture, before the rule of French colonisation, during the era of climate change.

Case Study:

H&P Architects are advocates of compassionate, sustainable, and adaptable architecture. Led by Doan Thanh Ha and Tran Ngoc Phuong, the firm was established in 2009 with architect groups, engineers, planners and project managers. It has a philosophy centered around designing for the disadvantaged and poor ethnic minorities in Vietnam that are most susceptible to being hit by natural disasters. Their projects are often community oriented and based around the notion of a “Necessary Space” that encompasses physiological needs, safety needs and belonging needs. Their mission of providing homes for poor and disadvantaged communities has led them down a path of sustainable development in which their homes use “necessary materials” that are cheap, locally available and recycled. Additionally, the firm allows for users to participate in the construction of the homes while following technologically appropriate protocols such as combining traditional craftsmanship with modern technology. This philosophy allows for an intersection between culture, community and climate.

In 2013, the firm composed their philosophy into the form of an affordable and sustainable home that could combat up to 3 meters of rising waters in central Vietnam. This floating architecture, named the Blooming Bamboo Home, was designed to adapt to the climate of the region including severe storms, floods, landslides and droughts.

The Home has won many awards from the Red Dot Award in 2018 to German design award in 2017 since its completion. Unlike the typical structures made in the area, this two story blooming bamboo home does not rely on concrete and cement. The walls, roof, and floors are completely composed of bamboo, fibreboard and coconut leaves with the possibility of changing the material according to what is available locally and regionally. Since the structure is made of bamboo, the blooming house can also become a vertical garden. The roof and walls are assembled by bolting, binding and hanging the materials, which allows for mobility in the home. Sections of the roof could be propped open, creating the image of a blooming blossom, while the walls could fold outwards to allow for ventilation. The house itself is elevated on stilts that are meant to allow floods but otherwise, the free landscape underneath could be used for farming and gardening. The main floor, accessed through detachable wooden ladders placed on decks that jut out around the perimeter, is meant to be the living and sleeping spaces while the attic, accessed through yet another ladder, is a space of prayer and study. This modular home could house 6 people or be expanded to house 8 people. Last, inhabitants of the Blooming Bamboo Home can assemble the structure themselves within 25 days and at a cost of only 2500 USD. This process allows for a connection between the owner, his home, and the vernacular culture of Vietnam.

Analysis:

The Blooming Bamboo Home is a wonderful interpretation of vernacular architecture in Vietnam. The home utilises local material and construction methods known to the region. This creates a connection between the user and the traditions that have been in Vietnamese culture for centuries. Its floor plan is semi-open which not only allows for interaction between inhabitants but also allows for different interpretations of the space. The Blooming Bamboo Home does not have to just be a home. The architects envisioned the modular structures when in mass becoming educational, medical or community centers. Its single module frame also allows for the inhabitants to build the home themselves which creates a connection between home and environment while inviting a sense of self-control and possession. The total cost of the homes are only 2500 USD, making it one of the most affordable real estate in central Vietnam. Additionally, it utilises local materials that veer away from conventional and historically French concrete and steel which can lower the production of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases. The most important aspect of the Blooming Bamboo Home comes down to, however, its ability to adapt to the climate in Vietnam. The components of the structure, such as the walls and roof, can be adjusted to cater to the tropical weather of Vietnam. The structure responds in advance to the frequent floods of the region. Last, since the home could be built in 25 days, by the community, and only for 2500 USD, it allows for environmental, economic and community adaptation.

However, there exists social challenges in designing fundamentally vernacular and traditional architecture like that of the Blooming Bamboo Home. Architecture in Vietnam, as in many other countries, have come to signify class, whether it be old and elite families or those of nouveau riche. Architectural trends from design to facade to material depend entirely on those capable of designating the cultural capital of the region. In other words, the “fashionable trend” towards more traditional architecture, whether that is colonial or vernacular, depends entirely on who can afford to contribute to that trend. Even if the old elists of Vietnam want to transition to more traditional architecture, the nouveau riche would rather continue using Western elements in their homes in order to demonstrate their economical status and differentiate themselves from their neighbors. The modular Blooming Bamboo Home then would not be accepted in this fashionable trend as it stands inornate, vernacular with no sense of Western influence, and very similar to its neighbor. Nonetheless, the philosophy of H&P Architects is not one that demands support from all social classes. The purpose of their work lies with those in need in which 'necessary space’ is vital for survival and architecture serves as homes and not as ornaments of wealth.

Conclusion:

The Blooming Bamboo Home by H&P Architects is an attempt at affordable, environmentally conscious, and community based architecture. This form of bamboo architecture is not radically new. It is an interpretation of traditional vernacular Vietnamese architecture that attempts to connect its users back into their homes and their environment. It acknowledges the historical impacts and influence of French colonisation and how the current built environment in Vietnam has been shaped into an unaffordable, concrete facade incapable of withstanding climate change. The Blooming Bamboo Home succeeds in adapting to a new era of severe weather conditions and poverty. The expandable and modular structure allows for quick construction that can even be built by the users themselves in 25 days. This lessens the cost of construction to 2500 USD, elevates the sense of community to nature, and aides in reconstruction processes post a natural disaster. Although the structure itself still needs to be tested further against more severe conditions and is indeed not the most fashionable trend for every social class and country, the Blooming Bamboo Home demonstrates that the technology, the tools, and the resources in which architects currently possess are enough to make a difference for the people and the environment.

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