Instructor
Vo Trong Nghia (http://votrongnghia.com/)
Architect
Founding Partner Vo Trong Nghia Architects
Program: Childrens School
Site: Ho Chi Minh City
Scale: ~1500m2
Brief
Indulging in smartphones and internet, urban children are becoming inactive and losing all connection to nature. On the other hand, in rural areas, nature and agriculture are threatened by climate change and harsh urbanization. It is now the time to reconsider the value of green in modern cities.
The theme of our studio, “Urban Kindergarten”, is a case-study. Through the designing of a nursery in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s biggest city with 8,000,000 population, students are asked to re-construct the relationship between nature and human. Projects will aim to reactivate our children by utilizing renewable energy (wind, water, light), natural materials, and above all, the power of green.
The site is located at 56, Nguyen Phi Khanh St., Tan Dinh Ward, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City with a total area of 698m2. Facing to a narrow street, the site is located in a high-dense residential area in the center of Ho Chi Minh City. Its neighbors are typical long and narrow row houses, at times with shops on their ground levels.