Concrete Planters Create A Green Façade

Designed by: VTN Architects.

Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | Latitude: 10.78165˚ N

The concrete planters of this house create a green façade to the front and back. Several stacking concrete planters make up this green façade. They characterise the façade of this home and how it interacts with the street.

Stacking Green is the name of this house in Ho-Chi-Minh City (formerly Saigon), Vietnam. The design is by VTN Architects, known for their philosophy of creating houses for trees and greenery.

“We named this tropical, unique and green house as Stacking Green because its façades filled with vigorous and vital greenery.”
– VTN Architects

House Location and Context

Stacking Green is a typical Vietnamese tube house on a 4m wide and 20m deep plot.

A “tube house” is a long, narrow house often found in some cities and towns in Vietnam. They have a small street elevation and can be several storeys tall.

Many developing cities in Asia are losing their regional charm and characteristics. Urban sprawl and rapid commercialisation are now the primary influence. Hence, the increasing population negatively affects the quality of life in these cities. This density is also reducing the amount of greenery in Vietnamese cities.

Ho Chi Minh City is no different. It is the largest city in Vietnam, but many green spaces are now primarily commercial and residential buildings.

According to the latest statistics in Ho Chi Minh City from the Department of Transport, parks, gardens and greenbelts went through a 50% reduction since 1998.

Stacking Green is a private house prototype to help counteract the lack of green spaces around a home.

Furthermore, in Ho Chi Minh City, there is an interesting custom where the people enjoy having tropical plants and flowers along the streets.

“Even in the modernised city, people unconsciously desire the substitute of lush tropical forest.”
– VTN Architects

House Design Brief

The client for this house is a thirty-year-old couple. They live there with their mother.

It is a two-bedroom house that follows tropical architectural ideals.

The gross floor area is 220 square meters or 2,368 square feet and occupies four storeys.

Stacking Green was built in 2011.

House Design Approach or Design Strategies

Introducing greenery into this project was one of VTN Architects’ main aims.

“A private house with highly visible greenery is profitable not only for its residents but also for the community.”
– VTN Architects

Stacking Green’s façade comprises horizontal concrete planters. These concrete planters fall one over the other and span from the walls on either side of the house. In addition, his idea of making vegetation a vital aspect of this home gets its inspiration from Saigon’s culture of displaying greenery in private dwellings.

House Design Layout

Stacking Green occupies four storeys.

On the ground floor, there is space to park a car. There is also a bedroom on that floor and a courtyard to the northeast.

The first floor carries the public spaces. These include a living area and a kitchen.

Another bedroom is on the second floor, along with a bathroom.

At the top are a roof garden, study and worship room.

Photo: Hiroyuki Oki

The stair that goes to the upper floors is next to a void. This void opens to the courtyard below and goes through all floors. It is also next to the back green façade. Hence, the stair and void are semi-outdoor areas since the spaces between the concrete planter boxes are open.

Concrete Planters and Green Façade

The front and back of this house carry concrete planters. They are twenty-five planters in all; twelve on the front façade and thirteen at the back.

These planters span between the two side walls of the home like horizontal blades. Hence, they give the appearance of large louvres with greenery over them.

Furthermore, the planters have different types of plants and are what you see from the street. They are eye-catching and create a unique façade. The plants produce a green façade and contribute to the neighbourhood’s greenery.

Plants are also a great way to create a green, sustainable appearance for a tropical, urban street.

Photo: Hiroyuki Oki

With such a large amount of vegetation on the façade, it serves as an inspiration to the neighbourhood. Hence, it encourages the neighbours and other people around the city to use more greenery in and around their buildings. As a result, the house got plenty of media attention in and outside of Vietnam.

The depth of the concrete planters and the spacing between them also vary to accommodate different types of plants.

Automatic irrigation pipes make it easy to water the plants in their planters. Hence, it is easier to maintain than watering each plant by hose or watering can.

Green Façade and Biophilic Design

The plants and green façade do not only enhance the neighbourhood and the appearance of the home from the street. They also have several benefits to the interior of the house.

One of these is the connection to nature they create from practically anywhere in the home. This approach is a critical biophilic response. Biophilic design is an approach that intentionally tries to make stronger connections between human beings and the natural environment in buildings.

A connection to nature is an integral part of human health and psychology. Human beings love being close to natural elements. These elements also lift our mood and improve the quality of an indoor space.

This condition is critical in dense, urban areas, where access to green spaces is not readily available.

In Stacking Green, the planters create the appearance of lush vegetation right outside the door or window. Large, glazed openings between the rooms and the green façade give an immersive experience of being in a natural environment. It is a much more pleasant view than neighbouring buildings.

Photo: Hiroyuki Oki

The planters and plants also create privacy in the interior rooms. VTN Architects do this by having the horizontal bands of concrete planters with greenery.

“The semi-open green screen also keeps the privacy and security of the house in a friendly rather than combative manner, which is extremely important for residents in the city.”
– VTN Architects

Thermal Environment and Response to Tropical Climate

Natural ventilation is critical when designing a house in a tropical climate. The flow of fresh air is essential to minimise energy consumption. It is an energy-efficient strategy while providing a comfortable indoor environment.

VTN Architects’ design allows for the porous green façade and courtyards to maximise the wind that passes through the house. In addition, the open-plan, “one-room” arrangement avoids unnecessary partitions in the rooms. Such internal walls or other obstructions reduce the effectiveness of cross ventilation.

Photo: Hiroyuki Oki

In addition, the green façade and rooftop garden provides some shade from the sun. It helps protect the home’s inhabitants from direct sunlight. Furthermore, it reduces street noise and pollution entering in.

“This green façade contributes not only to visual comfort for the inhabitants but also to upgrading the indoor thermal environment, therefore saving energy.”
– VTN Architects

Energy Efficiency

Stacking green is a relatively low-cost building. The simple yet elegant design is economical.

In addition, the design promotes an efficient energy performance for its tropical climate.

One year after the construction of the house, they took measurements of the wind flow inside the house. They took these measurements to determine the effectiveness of the building’s design.

Measurements of the wind speed came from 11 different spots around the house. These include all rooms and courtyards. They also made a comparison of the wind speed at the relevant height outside the home.

The measurements confirmed that there are comfortable wind flows throughout the house.

However, this result was not surprising because of the behaviour of the homeowners.

The harsh tropical climate of Ho Chi Minh City has an average temperature of 28 degrees Celsius. Yet, the client scarcely uses their air conditioning. Thanks to the wind flow and other passive design strategies, the thermal environment inside remains within a comfortable range.

Hence, due to passive design strategies in this house, electricity charges are low.

Construction and Materials

The house’s structure is predominately concrete, including the walls and planter boxes.

Openings are glass in timber frames. Some exterior doors also carry casement window panels so that breezes can still pass through the house when the doors are not open.

Conclusion

Stacking green is a beautiful, modern home that performs well in the tropical climate.

The green façade that comprises the horizontal concrete planters is not only aesthetical but also offers many benefits.

It provides the community and the homeowners with lush greenery, a massive benefit in dense, urban areas.

In addition, the openness of the green screen allows for ample natural ventilation while offering privacy. The green walls also provide shade from the sun.

This home embodies VTN Architects’ biophilic and sustainable ideals of creating houses for trees.