Facing the changes

Vietnam, histo­ri­cally an agri­cul­tural country, is facing changes as it moves to a manu­fac­tu­ring based economy, taking its toll on the envi­ron­ment. Increased droughts, floods and sali­niza­tion jeopar­dize food supplies, while nume­rous motor­bikes cause daily conges­tion and air pollu­tion in the cities. Rapid urba­niza­tion deprives Viet­na­mese children of green lands and play­grounds, thus rela­ti­onship with nature.

Farming Kinder­garten is a chall­enge to counter these issues. Located next to a big shoe factory, and desi­gned for 500 (!) children of the factory’s workers, the buil­ding is conceived as a conti­nuous green roof, provi­ding food and agri­cul­ture expe­ri­ence to children, as well as an exten­sive play­ground to the sky.

The green roof is a triple-ring shape drawn with a single stroke, encir­cling three cour­ty­ards inside as safe play­grounds. Recently, an expe­ri­mental vege­table garden was realized on its top. Five diffe­rent vege­ta­bles are planted in 200m² garden for agri­cul­tur­ural educa­tion.

All func­tions are accom­mo­dated under this roof. As the roof lowers to the cour­tyard, it provides access to the upper level and vege­table gardens on top – the place where children learn the importance of agri­cul­ture and recover connec­tion to nature.

Environmental strategies

The buil­ding is made of a conti­nuous narrow strip with two side operable windows which maxi­mize the cross venti­la­tion and natural lighting. Addi­tio­nally, archi­tec­tural and mecha­nical energy-saving methods are compre­hen­si­vely applied inclu­ding but not limited to: green roof as insu­la­tion, green facade as shading and solar water heating. These devices are desi­gned visibly and play an important role in the children’s sustainable educa­tion. Factory waste­water are recy­cled to irri­gate gree­nery and flush toilets.

As a result, the kinder­garten is operated without air condi­tio­ners in the class­rooms despite being located in a harsh tropical climate. Accor­ding to post-occu­p­ancy record issued ten months after comple­tion, the buil­ding saves 25% of energy and 40% of fresh water compared to base­line buil­ding perfor­mance, redu­cing its running cost greatly.

Cost-efficiency

The buil­ding is desi­gned for low-income factory workers’ children; ther­e­fore cons­truc­tion budget is quite limited. The combi­na­tion of local mate­rials (ex. bricks, tiles) and low-tech cons­truc­tion methods are applied, which also help mini­mize the envi­ron­mental impact as well as promote local industry. Thanks to simple rigid frame with econo­mical mate­rials, the cons­truc­tion cost per one square meter is only 500 USD inclu­ding finishes and equip­ment, which is compe­ti­tively cheap even within the Viet­na­mese market.