Bamboo house living with natural disasters in Vietnam

Made of available materials in nature, a house of about 50m2 in size has a cost of about 50 million VND and is constructed within 25 days , suitable for people in flood areas, where natural disasters often occur.

The house is designed for people living in disaster areas.(Photo: Doan Thanh Ha)

In fact, every year storms and flash floods, landslides in Vietnam have killed hundreds of people, lost about 1.2% of GDP, since 2008, a group of architects had the idea of using houses For disaster areas , the initial goal is to provide stable accommodation for people who have lost their houses.

However, seeing new houses continue to be buried in storms and floods, the group moved to approach and gradually upgrade the solution, with the desire to help people actively live with natural disasters. Last September, the house for the disaster area was completed.

Mr. Doan Thanh Ha, a member of the design team, said that this bamboo space could be used for many purposes such as building houses, classrooms or clinics; and has flexible opening and closing capabilities as well as expansion when needed.

"Bamboo is called" vegetable steel "so it is tougher, more durable than oak but lighter than concrete, steel, has a high aesthetic, environmentally friendly , " said Ha and said the method of immersion Sludge and smoked help the bamboo has 10-20 years of life. Moreover, bamboo can be exploited after 3-5 years of planting and does not need to be planted because bamboo shoots continue to grow.

Inside the house.(Photo: Doan Thanh Ha)

The architecture of the house is anchored, braced, and strong enough to be able to withstand natural disasters, exceeding the flood level of 1.5m. The building does not use construction foundations but has a cross bracing frame to stabilize and lift the floor 1.5m high to avoid flooding. Residents will cover the house depending on the climate and natural materials available such as bamboo, pressed bamboo, coconut leaves, suitable for income capacity and create local architectural features.

The space is 44m ² (when closed) and 62m ² (when opened) is convenient for a family (6 people) to live with natural disasters. It has all the necessary functions for a family, including the living room, kitchen, toilet, laundry, classrooms, worship and sleeping areas. Filtering tank system, treating water below the floor to take advantage of rainwater and reuse domestic water, provide clean water to use when flooding.

"The porch and roof can be extended to 4 sides to get the natural light for the house. The wall surface with air-entrapment traps and greened with vegetable troughs contributes to improving the meal in the life time. with flood, this is the solution towards combining agriculture with the architecture that we are pursuing, ' said Ha.

According to architects, the house meets three criteria: low cost, fast construction and wide applicability. The total cost of materials and equipment for the model house in Hanoi is 55 million, construction in 25 days. People can erect themselves due to the modularized components. They can also actively prepare materials on site and complete the house during the process of living.

The design team is continuing to study to help the upper house to float by reusing barrel system, to live with a flood level of about 3m high.

The overall model of a village in the area often suffers from natural disasters.(Photo: Doan Thanh Ha)

Dr. Nguyen Tri Thanh, Deputy Dean of Architecture, Hanoi University of Architecture said that bamboo houses are not a new way of making but the idea of ​​bamboo houses can be built quickly and inexpensively. Poor people in areas prone to natural disasters are quite new and aim at humanities.

According to Dr. Thanh, the authors should find ways to replace the links that are using steel pegs, bolts, steel wires with bamboo pegs, tying the rope so that people can do it."At the same time, the group should improve the design more flexibly to suit the budget and the time of the relatives, such as the washing and toilet area, may not need to be closed immediately, or 3-4 families will be together. an extra work , " Thanh said.

"So are the doors and walls, how do we have the frame before to avoid the rain and the sun, and then we will add the plastic and press to avoid the cold wind? Because in the poor countryside, the flood is destroyed, so is a bamboo plate. And is it necessary to have four open doors on the attic, or is it just enough to ventilate and escape the emergency but still have the ability to manifest the 'Flower Blossom'? " , Mr. Thanh further analyzed.

According to Mr. Thanh, the house needs a direct test in actual flood and storm conditions to ensure maximum safety for the people, also to create trust for investors and leaders.