Global Holcim Awards Silver 2009

Slipping into nature Low-impact greenfield university campus Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Regional competition This project was previously conferred the Holcim Awards Silver 2008 Asia Pacific; page 111 In Vietnams Mekong Delta, a new campus for the students of Ho Chi Minh Citys University of Architecture is being built. The project acknowledges the needs of both people and the environment. The unique complex, based on the design of flows, is seamless with its natural location. Slipped into this space, students will have the opportunity to directly experience sustainability.

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The 20 th century is past we can move forward without guilt, Kazuhiro Kojima says. Its time to focus on 21 century needs. Whoever wishes to match the Japanese architects words with actions need look no further than his design for the new campus of Ho Chi Minh Citys University of Architecture (HUA).
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Living and learning in a river delta HUA is the most important of Vietnams three architecture universities. There are 6,000 students across the faculties of architecture, urban planning, civil engineering, construction, and applied arts (interior design and fashion). Its home, in the center of Ho Chi Minh City, is too small. A new campus on the outskirts of this six million

The design began from the fluid direction of the site, following the idea of slipping into nature.

Nine dragons river The Mekong is one of the worlds major rivers, and South-East Asias lifeblood. Its source is in the Tibetan Plateau from there, it travels around 4,500 kilometers through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia, before arriving in Vietnam, and emptying, via its delta, into the South China Sea. At least 1,300 different types of fish as

The starting point for Kazuhiro Kojima and his team was the question: how can space and education coexist? Computational fluid dynamics (CFD), an analysis of wind and activity flow, informed the design; rather than an imposing structure, the architecture merges with the landscape.

strong city is planned.

The 40 hectare parcel, on an island in the Mekong Delta, will contain some 120,000 square meters of living and learning space. As well as the typical university infrastructure needed for an expected growth to 8,000 students in the future auditoriums, administration offices, libraries and sports

well as numerous bird and reptile species call the Mekong home, making it one of the most biodiversity-rich systems on Earth. The

In this way, the design considers the environmental sensitivity of its location as much as the requirements of a growing student population.

fields apartments for 2,000 students are included. The river delta location is part of the citys master plan for various new developments over coming years.

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So much freedom can be limiting.

rivers Vietnamese name Sng Cuu Long or Nine Dragons describes the nine main arteries which form once the river splits around Ho Chi Minh City. The delta region can cover up to 39,000 square kilometers depending on the season a land area equivalent to the Netherlands. Its fertile land, rich in sediment deposits, is ideal for agriculture as the rice bowl of Vietnam, the area produces around 16 million tonnes per year as well as tropical fruit, sugar cane and coconut.

Kazuhiro Kojima

water level variance is not as significant here as in some delta regions, its 1.5 meter

The Mekong Delta is the place where nature meets dense human settlement. A sensitive balance must be maintained 14.5 million people live in its catchment. Many villages are reachable only by boat; there are water level variances up to ten meters. In 2001, a kilometer-long suspension bridge over the river opened the main towns of Cn Tho, My Tho, Long Xuyen and Rach Gia also to heavy traffic. The island chosen for the new HUA campus is, at present, reachable only by boat, but a highway is planned. While the

seasonal change impacts significantly on construction planning and design.

Space and education in co-existence An international competition, hosted in 2006 for the design of the new campus, was won by Kazuhiro Kojima and his team from CAt, Tokyo. The architectural studio has accomplished much in its young history impressive large-scale projects are its hallmark. CAt has designed the campus for the newly-founded University of Central

Ring road

Design faculty

Class rooms

Library

Conference rooms

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Asia in Naryn, Kyrgyzstan, and a residential development in Hanoi, Vietnam which experimented with natural ventilation. In their home country, they are working on the Murayama project, a former Nissan factory site not far from Tokyo its 106 hectares rehabilitated, paving way for a new use as an interfaith sacred site of prayer.

normal means of bank protection work to stabilize the site and impact upon the natural environment. Instead, our idea is to preserve, as far as possible, the existing landscape that is covered by water in the rainy season.

The design of flows The design, therefore, calls for a ring road, about two meters higher than the surrounding area, to take account of seasonal fluctuations in the water level. Within the ring, university buildings are low-rise, with a large footprint, for minimal impact on the unstable surface. The way the buildings are arranged, fluid

Their experiences within diverse landscapes informed CAts work for the HUA campus. The designs sensitive response to the question of how space and education could co-exist impressed the jury. It focuses on the maximum integration of the architecture into its natural environment the area is lush with greenery, rivers and streams course around and through the site, mangroves line the river banks, a constant wind cools the tropical heat. The setting inspired our design, Kazuhiro Kojima explains. We had no desire to use the
The water level in the Mekong Delta varies by up to ten meters between seasons. On the site of the new university campus, the difference is only 1.5 meters, but this still has major implications for construction planning and design.

forms in themselves, echoes the natural landscape on their doorstep.

Our design motif is a cross-section of celery, Kazuhiro Kojima says. It is a shape derived from fluid direction the design of flows. The architecture blends into the site, slips into its surroundings. Students have the opportunity to directly experience sustainability.

Comprehensive analyses of wind and activity flows for the site, using CFD, were

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conducted to simulate various conditions for example, orienting buildings to take full advantage of the strong winds that blow year-round. We use the wind as a fan, Kazuhiro Kojima says. The Mekong Delta has a special climate the tem-perature may be hot, but in the shade, with the wind, it is comfortable. CAts passive design of natural ventilation and solar shading means

most locations on campus will need no airconditioning.

Asias rapidly developing communities see this as a mark of Western lifestyle. Yet the effect on rising consumption and CO 2

Using the deltas strengths It is so important to promote the use of natural means of air-cooling in construction projects in Asia, Kazuhiro Kojima believes. Buildings are generally planned with an energy-hungry system in mind

emissions is clear. CAts design breaks the mold for large-scale projects even where air-conditioning is foreseen on campus, in the auditorium or laboratories, solar collectors will provide the required energy; elsewhere natural ventilation sets the standard.

Measuring human activity student movements are in red; white ranges represent infrastructure.

Comprehensive analyses of wind flows were conducted to simulate various conditions HUA campus buildings are oriented to take full advantage of their site dynamics.

Although each faculty has its own space, they each form part of a sequential loop in a system the architect believes enhances communication.

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Water is also a natural resource harvested by the design. Tropical downpours cool the buildings, while rainwater is collected for potable and gray water requirements. The areas fast-growing vegetation also contributes to energy-efficiency on campus. Within a few years, the four-storey high buildings will be dwarfed by trees up to 40 meters tall. Aesthetically, the complex will then be fully integrated into its environment. Meanwhile, the concept of porosity maximizes daylight and ventilation while ensuring solar-shading the building faades have a double skin, the outer elements are louvers; the inner are jalousie windows. Computer modeling ensures that maximum advantage is taken from each of these design choices.

The setting inspired our design. As a design technique, it reaches a new height of precision. It is a shape derived from fluid direction the design of flows.
Kazuhiro Kojima

Student participation After the competition win, Kazuhiro Kojimas design was presented to lecturers and

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For the campus to merge seamlessly with its environment, CAt is also seeking the assistance of fast-growing nature. Within a few years, the four-storey high buildings will be dwarfed by trees up to 40 meters tall.

architects vision, is high. Those opportunities go further, according to architect Daisuke Sanuki from the CAt team. We would like to host exhibitions in the middle of the city, to

Fortunately, however, the teams ideas did not seek refuge in the 20 th century past, but harnessed pioneering concepts which will resonate long into this new century.

students from HUAs architecture faculty. These discussions led to new ideas and solutions to issues. The project is also an ideal teaching tool the opportunity for a new generation of specialists to be profoundly influenced in their future profession, by living and working surrounded by the

bring our design concepts to the general population it will draw attention to the importance to how the Mekong Delta is further developed, he says. Yet the unique nature of the greenfield site was daunting in one respect so much freedom can be limiting. It is very easy to return to old ideas. Committed to design of flows There is a certain irony in using the latest technology to better understand the oldest of natural forces. Yet Kazuhiro Kojimas commitment to the concept of the design of flows, using the CFD analysis tool has paid

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Numerical fluid mechanics

The science of flow is that branch of mechanics which is concerned with the physical behavior of fluids gases and liquids. Its aim is to forecast their behavior, the flow they follow, under certain conditions. Computations are made based on the fluids atomic structure and characteristics in order to describe its flow. The Navier-Stokes equations, named after two 19th century scientists, are used as the basis of the methodology. Their equations arose from applying Newtons second law to fluid motion, together with different assumptions. In fluid mechanics, huge sets of data are implicated. In the 1970s computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was developed it uses numerical methods and algorithms to solve and analyze these complex problems. Computers are used to perform the millions of calculations required to simulate the interaction of fluids and gases with the surfaces used in engineering. Ongoing research over the years has seen different software programs developed for the computation and visualization of currents. As well as in architectural design, CFD is used in many sectors of industry, including aviation, automotive, turbine and cooling system manufacturing.

off. As a design technique, it reaches a new height of precision, he explains. For example, ventilation is not the given it once was with CFD there are numerous possibilities that can be fed into the analysis, and the design adjusted to maximize a desired effect. Or, if there is an acoustic issue in a given space, Kazuhiro Kojima does not simply draw a wall to solve the problem, but uses CFD to consider shaping dynamics. Designing in this way leads to architecture which is more natural, more organic, more alive, he says.

Kazuhiro Kojima (left) with Vietnamese architect and co-author Trong Nghia Vo.

and other specialized functions are the black zones within the buildings core.

Natural architecture I often use the concept of black and white zones in my designs, Kazuhiro Kojima explains. Black zones are areas where functions cannot be changed for example bathrooms, kitchens. White zones are multiuse spaces, or changeable. Using this as a design parameter contributes to a buildings sustainable construction and long-term use without major renovation. On the HUA campus this means situating white zones

The campus buildings will be constructed by local tradespeople using a time-honored local method a brick-filled concrete frame finished with a faade of porous natural materials such as bamboo or mangrove timber to enhance ventilation. The economic performance of the project is also enhanced by these choices. Traditional knowledge and proven building materials are thus combined with the most modern simulation technology. And the result is a university campus at one with its new home.

The notion of flows also applies to activity zones on campus. The design aims to work the paradox of connectivity and separation between the different university faculties in the complex. Although each faculty has its own space, they each form part of a sequential loop in a system the architect believes enhances communication.

such as teaching spaces and open learning areas around a buildings periphery. Labs

Designing in this way leads to architecture which is more natural, more organic, more alive.
Kazuhiro Kojima

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