“House for trees” was named the Building of the Year by Ashui.com when it announced Ashui Awards 2014 on December 31.

Based on the theme of the potted trees typically found on the rooftops and balconies in Vietnam, renowned architect Vo Trong Nghia and his Japanese partners Masaaki Iwamoto and Kosuke Nishijima built a house that functions as a series of pots for trees.

The house includes five separate prismatic blocks, each of which contains a tree planted on its roof. Its design offers an inspiring solution to the city's growing pollution and shortage of green space.

The construction was completed on 350 square meters in Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Binh District and was the first of its kind in Vietnam built with a bamboo framework.

Earlier, “House for trees” won international prizes of AR House Awards and World Architecture Festival (WAF) Awards this year.

On its Awards announcement, Ashui.com, the first e-portal specialising in architecture- planning- construction in Vietnam, which was set up in 2000, honoured Nguyen Hoa Hiep as an “Architect of the Year”.

The architect and his A21 studio previously won the 2014 WAF’s Building of the Year title for their “The Chapel” project.

Young Architect title was presented to Vu Linh Quang from ARDOR Architects.

According to Le Viet Ha, president of Ashui.com, Ashui Awards is held annually with a view to honouring Vietnamese architects who stood out with works representing talent, vision, and pioneering features that help form an architectural trend in the future.

The award presentation ceremony is scheduled to be held at Grand Hotel Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City on January 11, 2015.-VNA