House for Trees | Vo Trong Nghia Architects (VTN Architects)

Under rapid urbanization, cities in Vietnam have diverged far away from their origins as rampant tropical forests. In Ho Chi Minh City, as an example, only 0.25% area of the entire city is covered by greenery. Over-abundance of motorbikes causes daily traffic congestion as well as serious air pollution.

photography by © Hiroyuki Oki

As a result, new generations in urban areas are losing their connections with nature. “House for Trees”, a prototypical house within a tight budget of 155,000 USD, is an effort to change this situation. The aim of the project is to return green space into the city, accommodating high-density dwelling with big tropical trees.

Five concrete boxes, each house a different program, are designed as “pots” to plant trees on their tops. With thick soil layer, these “pots” also function as storm-water basins for detention and retention, therefore contribute to reducing the risk of flooding in the city when the idea is multiplied to a large number of houses in the future.

photography by © Hiroyuki Oki

Project Info :
AArchitects:VTN Architects
Project Year : 2014
Project Area : 226.0 m2
Photographs : Hiroyuki Oki
Construction Cost : 156,000 USD
Project Architect : Nguyen Tat Dat
Contractor : Wind and Water House JSC
Project Location : Tan Binh District,Ho Chi Minh Citym, Vietnam
Architects in Charge : Vo Trong Nghia, Masaaki Iwamoto, Kosuke Nishijima