The Mekong Delta is home to many river-dependent Vietnamese, and the Floating Bamboo House is one housing option they have. It’s a novel three-room dwelling with a bamboo base (diameter d = 3-4.5cm, lengths 3m and 6m) and hooks and knots to hold it together.
© Le Minh Hoang
Floating Bamboo House’s Concept
Lightweight materials such as compacted wrapped bamboo sheets, leaves, perforated iron, bamboo panels, etc., are used for the exterior and interior coverings and dividers. The home’s significant roof is intended to gather rainfall and generate solar energy. The flexible door systems make the house resilient in severe weather while giving it a distinct character, like a bouquet floating on the sea’s surface.
© Le Minh Hoang
Due to the plastic drum systems secured to the floor below, the Floating Bamboo House can float endlessly. The sewage and clean water tanks are in the house’s central core. It has a 6m x 6m square footprint on two levels, allowing for future growth in usable space. Reminiscent of the Rông house and the nh pavilion, two enduringly iconic symbols of the Vietnamese people, the house takes on a far more social, educational, and library-like character when the upper floor panels are taken off.
© H&P Architects
When several floating bamboo houses are linked together in the years to come by floating play fields, vegetable-growing vessels, fish-raising fields, etc., a tranquil floating urbanization of various living groupings is predicted to take shape.
It’s no exaggeration to say that Vietnam is among the nations most negatively impacted by global warming. The predicted 1-meter rise in sea level will immediately affect 20–30 million people, as it will flood 47% of the Mekong Delta area and 13% of the Red River Delta area. For millions of low-income families, Floating Bamboo House represents a viable option for quickly building their own secure homes to mitigate the worst effects of global warming.
© H&P Architects
Project Info:
- Architects: H&P Architects
- Area: 36 m²
- Year: 2022
- Photographs: Le Minh Hoang
- Design Team: Doan Thanh Ha, Vu Minh Dien, Pham Hong Son, Nguyen Hai Hue, Nguyen Tuan Hai, Le Duy Thanh
- Project Team Students: Duong Minh Duc, Vu Ngoc Tuan, Nguyen Hung Gia
- Architectural Advisor: Nguyen Tri Thanh
- Fb House Sponsor: Samsung Foundation of Culture
- Fb House 02 Sponsor: Architecture & Social Responsibility Foundation (ASR Foundation)
- City: Hồng Thái
- Country: Vietnam
