Vietnam is currently experiencing an upswing that reveals parallels to developments achieved by some of its Asian neighbors. Viewed in fast-forward, a rise of this nature provides an opportunity hitherto scarcely seized to take advantage of the awareness of sustainability and the related know-how that has arisen in the industrialized nations over the decades. The alternative would be to repeat without reflection in particular the bad ecological planning at a later stage. However, timeframes and budgets, as well as Vietnamese building standards, call for cautious technology transfer.
Tan Lap Green City’s target group are so-called adherents of LOHAS (an acronym for Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability). LOHAS are consumers with in many cases above-average incomes who represent a healthy, body-conscious life, a responsible, sustainable approach to the environment, and for social justice. As style setters they exert a positive, catalytic charisma on style adopters, who in the medium term adopt and spread the lifestyle established by LOHAS.
Tan Lap Green City is an approx. 9 hectare neighborhood near the downtown area of the coastal town Nha Trang. A meandering access network reminiscent of a branching river runs through the building plot, which is located between the river delta and the sea. In between there are hotels, apartment blocks, a villa district and a public park, as well as a promenade boasting detached houses along the banks of the river.
To date the river delta has scarcely been viewed as high-end space worthy of protection. The water is heavily polluted, primarily through garbage. Our aim is to encourage a sustainable approach to the river through the heavily orchestrated, Mediterranean-style promenade. We are planning a sewage treatment plant for the construction area, a measure that is still unusual in Vietnam.
The development is highly concentrated. As such the specified gross surface area allows a very high proportion of unsealed areas, in which a public park with woods is to be laid out. This funnel-shaped aisle is to be shaped such that it directs fresh sea air in the direction of the development.
As a result of the compact method of construction, outside sheathing has been minimized, thus boosting passive energy conservation. For further energy reduction, the meandering geometry of the apartment blocks shade each other such that a high proportion of the north and west-facing facades are protected from the early afternoon sun, which in Vietnam is very strong at this time of day. Occasional three-storey openings penetrate the blocks so that the early morning light can shine on the north and east-facing facades. These openings are used as semi-public gardens and are connected to the naturally ventilated outside access areas.
The ten-storey apartment blocks stand on a totally green park and access level. Expanses of water provide natural lighting for the pedestal storey and improve the ambient climate.
The facades of the hotel complexes boast half-open terraces, whose vegetation improves the ambient climate through nature.
The mostly green roofs and terraces feature sealed areas again and, as high-quality, natural leisure space, are an iconographic reflection of how LOHAS view themselves.
Tan Lap Green City is the visible embodiment of a healthy, sustainable lifestyle without self-denial. We expect this building idea for Nha Trang to bear influence on developments in Vietnam.
