Climatic Adaptive Approaches of Traditional Housing in Vietnam

Introduction of Traditional Houses in Vietnam

- The traditional rural house in Vietnam Northern lowland is a skillful
combination of architecture and decorative arts. The decorative arts on the
traditional Vietnamese house have become a profound style meaning best
wishes and provided an impressive aesthetic. The typical wooden sculpture
feature in the traditional Vietnamese house tactfully hides conjunctive
components and eases the feeling of heavy bearing structures. The motifs
of the decorative arts are often herbs, flowers, and fruits, which reflect the
desire of the owners. For example, the peach symbolizes longevity and the
pomegranate symbolizes the flocks of children. These decorations show the
Vietnamese spirit of harmony and towards nature.

Vietnamese residence is divided into three which are:

1. Village
- Vietnamese villages are typically located on high land areas or near water
sources, making them ideal for farming and hunting. The village's
boundaries are typically protected by green bamboo ramparts. A public axis
is particularly common in a typical community. It consists of a village gate, a
banyan tree, a well, a market, and a temple, which can be viewed as the
stem of a leaf. The veins of the leaf represent village houses held by the
same clan. The village's main street of features strips of ponds and
manmade lakes. In addition to breeding interest, they act as surface water
drainage, landscape, and microclimate coordinators. Traditional Vietnamese
villages are typically built on territory that includes rivers, hills, plains, and
coastal locations.

2. Hamlet
 - The hamlet is a typical Vietnamese ethnic neighborhood, but it is not
included in the government's administrative structure. Hamlet is a
gathering of households who live close together and may be related by
blood.

3. Curtilage (Campus)
- Vietnamese traditional houses follow the "ecological circle" philosophy.
Most traditional Vietnamese houses have the following arrangement (from
front to back): a front garden (pond), a patio (yard), a main house and a
garden. For this organization, the conventional

Planning in Northern lowland area

- A traditional rural house in Vietnam Northern lowland often comprises a

main block, an ancillary block, a patio, a fish pond, a garden, livestock
houses and toilets. There are often an odd number of house compartments
(the gables are sometimes lean-tos). The load-carrying structure is often
made of wood, with a sophisticated carved and highly artistic truss system.

Mai
n block Ancillary Block
 P a
tio Fish Pond

- The house is often wrapped inside earth or brick walls, with wood partitions
separating the compartments. The middle compartment of the main block
houses the altar and guest room. On both sides of the altar compartment
are the sleeping quarters for the house owner and the eldest son. The next
two compartments include one as the bedroom for women and the other
as the storeroom for paddy, food and valuable properties. The main block
often faces the South direction to fetch cool air, as illustrated in the saying
“Marry a gentle wife, build a South-facing house". The ancillary block is
often used as cooking space, accommodation for the help and shop for
farming support and handicraft work.

- Under circumstances of relatively high rainfall, house clusters in the

Northern lowland are often positioned high and dry, and near lakes and
ponds to ensure quick drainage. The land reclamation experience,
preparation of building materials showed a longstanding culture in creation
of habitats.

- The internal setting of the house is also considered to best respond to the
climate. The front garden (pond) – patio – main block – back garden forms
the typical design chain of most rural houses in the Northern lowland. The
main block and wings are all single-storied, at right angles to each other and
looking to the patio. This setting creates a good microclimate for the house
 and convenience in daily life. Both the main and ancillary blocks can take in
plenty of cool air and sunshine, while being protected from cold wind.

- The bamboo range surrounding the village has long been an entrenched
subconscious image in the mind of Vietnamese. The bamboo wall serves as
a natural protection against pillagers, while also works as a wind and storm
fence, and is a bounteous source of building materials. Inside a Northern
lowland rural house, vegetables and fruit trees are grown for the house
owners’ use around the year, and may also serve as building and repair
materials when needed. The position and types of trees to be grown are
also selectively considered in the order of "areca in front, banana in the
back”, and thus it can take in as much cool air as possible or the sunlight
heat in Winter as well as fence off cold wind and limit heat loss.

- The interior space (except bedrooms for women and newlyweds) is also
structured in a way to provide users with openness and flexibility as well as
to help improve ventilation and control humidity and mould. The porch is a
transitional buffer space between the interior and exterior of the house
that prevents flying rainwater and direct solar radiation, and it also provides
a temperature and light cushion for the interior space. The porch in rural
Northern lowland often comes with thatching structures to help reduce
reflected heat from the patio and direct wind flows into the house. The
entire front façade of the house is used for the door system (traditional
multiple-panel door) that is designed to be tightly closed in winter or
completely opened to merge with the exterior environment in hot seasons.

- The roof slants on both sides with high gradient help improve drainage
performance. Roofing materials come from the nature (fan-palm, straw,
sedge, thatch, boot-shaped roof tiles etc.), with high thickness and porosity
to help improve insulation and ventilation. Roofing materials facilitate two-
way air exchange; this allows the temperature of the interior microclimate
always lower than the outside temperature in summer, keeps the place
warmer in winter and makes it well-ventilated at all times even though all
the openings are shut. The walls are often made of earth (wood or bamboo
 frames plastered with a mud and thatch mixture), and also provide high
insulation, although they do not have very high strength.

References:

- Cultural Behavior: Climatic Adaptive Approaches of Traditional Housing in

Vietnam Northern Lowland Area
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