Vietnamese studio Vo Trong Nghia Architects has created a local community centre of eight pavilions, every with intricate bamboo structures and thatched rooftops (+ slideshow).
Located on a Saigon River peninsula in the east of Ho Chi Minh City, the Diamond Island Neighborhood Centre supplies a series of large and modest spaces that can be used by local residents and travelers for a assortment of actions.
The eight structures are dotted across a park. The two greatest domes measure twelve.5 metres in height and each function rounded profiles, like giant mushrooms. 6 smaller structures, with seven metre heights, are much more akin to parasols in shape.
According to Vo Trong Nghia Architects, the structures had been inspired by the traditional bamboo baskets that Vietnamese farmers utilised to shelter fowl.
Beneath the thatched roof covering, every single has a complex bamboo construction. Various lengths are bound collectively to develop columns at ground degree, and these extend up to meet the rings that frame the dome-shaped roof.
Related story: Thatched “umbrella-like” roof tops bamboo community centre by Vo Trong Nghia
Bamboo is even utilized at the junctions between diverse sections, holding the framework collectively.
The two big pavilions were constructed onsite by experienced neighborhood workers, although the tiny pavilions had been every prefabricated as 12 units prior to being assembled.
“The huge pavilions are double-layered dome structures,” stated the studio. “The outer roof layer of thatch overhangs from the inner basket-like construction to generate deep eaves, safeguarding the whole bamboo structure from harsh sunshine and hefty rainfall.”
“The umbrella structures consist of 12 prefabricated structural units, aiming at efficiency of construction,” it added.
Vo Trong Nghia Architects has built numerous bamboo structures about Vietnam, such as a prototype for minimal-value housing, a waterside cafe and a wedding venue.
The firm sees its approach as a fusion of conventional folk art and contemporary architecture.
“Despite the application of several traditional building techniques, the project’s aim is not to reproduce the vernacular, but to develop sustainable architecture suited to the existing,” it mentioned.
All eight structures have a round skylight at the peak of the roof to ensure that no artificial lighting is essential for daytime routines. Hot air also travels out via this opening, trying to keep the spaces well ventilated.
The architects very first unveiled images of the local community centre last yr, when only the skeletons of the big domes were in location. Studio founder Vo Trong Nghia told Dezeen that bamboo is the “green steel of the 21st century”.
“I hope a lot of architects realise the prospective of the material and build with bamboo far more and much more,” he stated.
The studio also lately completed a similar but much smaller sized neighborhood centre in Sen, a village ten miles outside Ho Chi Minh City, and is currently doing work on a trio of plant-covered towers linked by bridges.
Photography is by Hiroyuki Oki.
Undertaking credits:
Practice: Vo Trong Nghia Architects
Principal architect: Vo Trong Nghia
Project crew: Le Thi Anh Huyen
Contractor: Wind and Water House
Web site strategy – click for more substantial picture 
Comprehensive part – click for bigger picture 
Elevation – click for greater picture 
