Hanoi goes green

SOM designs sustainable district in Vietnam Hanoi is to receive a highly sustainable urban district courtesy of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) following an international competition for the Green Tech City project, instigated by Blenheim Properties. The masterplan drawn up by SOM intertwines elements of local culture and urban heritage with state of the art design methods which aim to reduce the demand for non-renewable resources. Combining two existing villages, the design covers an area of 145 hectares with the capacity to serve an urban population of more than 20,000. A Cultural Forum complex forms a social anchor for the low-rise, pedestrian friendly residential development, acting as a central meeting space in addition to the extensive network of schools, healthcare clinics, and sports and leisure facilities. The Cultural Forum will house an auditorium, TV studio, art gallery, mediateque and various dining amenities. An existing system of agricultural water channels are to be reorganised into an interconnected network of landscaped waterways. This in turn will aid the production of green public spaces whilst managing flood control, preventing rainwater runoff, filtering and cleansing greywater and providing a source for irrigating new viticulture activities. Throughout the entire district, the latest technology in carbon emissions reduction, energy needs reduction and smart infrastructure will be employed in an active effort to produce a highly sustainable and eco-friendly urban borough. During the design process, SOM conducted extensive wind and solar analyses to determine the optimal orientation of streets and buildings in order to create ‘comfortable urban micro-climates’. Elements of canal water cooling, tri-generation plants, waste recycling and rainwater harvesting have also been incorporated into the design.