Ha Noi, November 25, 2019 – The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), Housing and Real Estate Market Management Agency (Ministry of Construction) announced the winners of the competition “Designing Houses and Sustainable Communities Resilient to Climate Change in Coastal Areas” today. The competition aims to explore viable designs for resilient homes and communities that can better withstand floods and storms, incorporating innovative solutions that are culturally and climatically appropriate.

According to the Climate Risk Index of Germanwatch, Viet Nam was one of the ten countries most affected by extreme weather events from 1998 – 2017. In recent years, Viet Nam has experienced increasingly harsh and unpredictable climatic events. In 2018 alone, more than 31,000 houses were flooded and damaged by natural disasters, and more than 220 people died or went missing. Total economic losses were estimated at nearly VND 20,000 billion.

Through the competition, the organizers have called on architects, engineers, and students of architecture currently living in Viet Nam to propose creative ideas that contribute to a safe, happy and sustainable life for coastal people, through three categories:

• Safe life – Low cost resilient: Designing a low-cost house suitable for the local natural conditions and customs and resistant to storms and floods for a safe life for people.
• Happy life – Environmentally friendly: Designing environmentally-friendly coastal houses (green, resilient to climate change and capable of emission reduction) for a happy and stable life for people in accordance with the local conditions and livelihood patterns.
• Sustainable life – Community green life: Designing a hamlet-level residential area for the community’s green life to promote resilience to negative climate changes and to create a sustainable future.

The competition attracted individuals, design consulting firms, and nearly 600 students from 14 universities across the country. Many housing designs with unique ideas, practical and innovative solutions have been proposed.

The winners are:

02 First prizes:

• TUL678. Renovate Xuong Dien village in Nam Dinh province of the group: Nguyễn Quang Huy, Huỳnh Tố Nga, Nguyễn hà Trung Hiếu, Hoa Tấn Khang, Lê Thị Ngọc Anh from đến từ Hanoi Architectural University
• NB2001. Multi-benefit connected houses of the group: Phạm Văn Mỹ, Trần Nhân Quân, Hà Thị Trúc Phương, Lê Trọng Bằng, Đinh Thị Thanh Trà from Mien Trung Construction University.

02 Second prizes:

• NN0616. House of Water of the group: Trần Anh Sơn, Hoàng Việt Anh, Chu Thị Lan Anh from ASLUS company
• DS2725. Long Thuy fishing village of the group: Lê Gia Đạt, Biện Thị Tuyết Sinh, Lê Ngọc Thùy Dung, Nguyễn Minh Tố, Dương Minh Lê from Mien Trung Construction University

02 Third prizes:

• TT1221. PAO house of Lê Văn Trọng
• PQ8609. Designing raft houses against storms combined with tourism purpose of Ngô Thanh Quý, Hoàng Đức Minh, Nguyễn Đức Nghĩa, Phạm Thị Thanh Ngân, Nguyễn Ngọc Thanh Tài from Van Lang University

The Organizing Committee also presented three consolation prizes, two voting awards and one creative effort award.

“UNDP, the Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), Housing and Real Estate Market Management Agency (Ministry of Construction) are eager to receive more intellectual and experience-driven contributions from industry experts and citizens in all regions of the country to distill feasible and appropriate initiatives to apply in the future,” said Doan Thi Tuyet Nga, Director of Department of Technology and International Cooperation, Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Speaking at the award ceremony, Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Resident Representative in Viet Nam, said “I am hoping that the selected designs will contribute to the Government’s upcoming resilient housing programmes for 28 coastal provinces, which can have long-term impacts such as lifting families out of poverty and ensuring safety and security in light of the more intense and frequent weather events associated with climate change”. She added that “UNDP will collaborate with MARD, VNDMA and MOC to continue this initiative to bring about many more good practices of low-cost resilient housing solutions to implement in Viet Nam.”

This competition is an initiative of the project “Improving the resilience of vulnerable coastal communities to climate change related impacts in Viet Nam” supported by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Government of Viet Nam. With strong partnership and cooperation from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Ministry of Construction and participating provinces, the project has constructed and handed over more than 2,400 resilient houses to poor and women-headed households in five coastal provinces since the end of 2017.

Read the remarks by Ms. Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Resident Representative in Viet Nam

More information, please kindly contact:

Phan Huong Giang
Media and Communications Analyst
Climate Change & Environment
United Nations Development Programme
Email: phan.huong.giang@undp.org; Mob: 0948466688

Vu Thai Truong
Programme Management Specialist
United Nations Development Programme
Email: vu.thai.truong@undp.org; Mob: 0913082727