Apartment complexes surrounded by green plants inside the Times City urban area in Hanoi (Source: VNA)
Green buildings are defined as thosewith high efficiency in the use of energy and materials and not having muchadverse effect on human health and the environment.
Tran Khanh Trung, President of the HCMCity Green Architecture Club, said: “Vietnam now ranks 17th in Asia and 37th inthe world in the number of green buildings, but the fact is the construction ofsuch buildings has been steadily increasing, going up from 28 in 2016 to 48this year.”
He listed the hurdles to green buildingconstruction in Vietnam.
“Low awareness of the community abouthow green buildings can protect the environment is the biggest challenge.
“Misconceptions about green buildingsare the next hurdle. People mistakenly think a green building must have a lotof trees and energy saving equipment, it is only about unique architecturalsolutions.
“People also think it is very difficultto get green certification and green buildings are very expensive. They arewrong.”
He said they cost 5-30 percent morethan normal buildings, but a very good consultant could bring it down to just0.5-2 percent.
He himself constructed a green buildingfor his company at 8 percent extra cost, he said.
“I spent 4 percent more for energyefficiency and fully recovered my money in three years.”
He invested another 3 percent to ensureno harmful materials or equipment were used indoors, considering that aninvestment for his and his staff’s health, he said.
In Vietnam, the concept of greenbuildings is still relatively new to the public and is not fully understoodeven by those working in construction and architecture, he said.
He was confident that “If thecommunity’s awareness of environmental protection improves, there will be aboom in green buildings.”
Vu Linh Quang, vice president of theclub, said: “Green buildings also contribute significantly to the process ofurban development by creating a sustainable living environment, attractingforeign investment and increasing tourism.”
Joseph Azzarello, senior staff engineer– sustainability, at Kohler Company and LEED certification coach at the USGreen Building Council (USGBC) said: “Buildings have a great impact on theenvironment and we must change them to green for environmental protection.”
Globally, buildings account for 17 percentof water use, 33 percent of CO2 emissions and 40 percent of the energyconsumed, he said.
The symposium attracted propertydevelopers, architects and interior design specialists, giving industryprofessionals an opportunity to share and discuss problems, hear from leadingexperts about world trends, and promote green buildings in the country.
Following the symposium, Kohlerorganised an LEED Green Associate training programme, and awarded attendees acertificate that is a pre-requisite for the official LEED GA certificationexam.-VNA
VNA
