The design of the Suoi Re communal house in Vietnam was ranked second
among five most outstanding works in the Gold Medal category of the
Italian’s Barbara Cappochin Prize that honours the most innovative work
in the field of energy saving and renewable energy technology.
Suoi Re communal house was designed by Hoang Thuc Hao and built from
the materials found on the site such as rammed earth and bamboo.
Located in Cu Yen Commune, in the northern province of Hoa Binh ,
the house has been in use since December last year. It comprises a
teaching area, library and meeting areas.
“It has become a familiar place for local inhabitants to send their children, hold meetings and play sports,” Hao said.
“For me, the best reward is the welcome of local inhabitants. The work
is innovative and I hope that it becomes a model that is picked up in
the midland,” he added.
In November this year, the
communal house entered the shortlist at the World Architecture Festival
Barcelona in Spain . On that occasion, Thao was invited to give a
lecture on the communal house in the city.
The Barbara
Cappochin Prize, which drew the participation of 383 designs this year,
aims to heighten awareness and quality of projects and construction. The
prize is open to architects worldwide and multidisciplinary teams led
by architects.
Hao said that through various organised
tours, many children from Hanoi visit the communal house and learn
the basic notions of green living, the way to construct a house by
materials found on site and to save energy.
“We should get a habit of living greenly, consuming greenly,” Hao said.
He is now working with his colleagues to build a 300 million VND
(15,000 USD) communal house for the Red Dao ethnic group in Ta Phin
village in Sapa, where they can gather together for meetings and also
display their handicraft products./.
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