Promoting "green" buildings is a challenge in Vietnam , given a lackof specific standards and procedures for construction and a lack ofcompetent human resources, according to the HCM City Energy SavingCentre ( ECC-HCM City ).
Green architecture expertThierry Roche said that to design a green building, many aspects,including ecological conditions, people's health and the surroundingenvironment must be considered.
According to architectTran Hoang Kien from Vinaconex R&D Joint Stock Company, buildinginvestors are not well-informed on the effectiveness of energy saving.
He said that energy-saving designs enable investors to save costs in the long run, but they have to invest more at the start.
That is why investors are hesitant about investing in energy-savingmethods."As businessmen, they want to get maximum profit with minimuminvestment," Kien said. "They want to break even in two to five years."
Kien said that promoting the green building concept is difficult because there are few suppliers of energy-saving equipment.
Tran Khanh Trung, director of Tam Trung Thong Design Joint StockCompany, said construction costs for an energy-saving building are 50 to100 percent higher than for a normal building.
Accordingto the US Green Building Council, a green building must be located in astable position where traffic is easy, use water effectively, make fulluse of energy equipment, utilise energy-saving tools, take advantage ofrecycling methods and enable easy control over the use of energy inside.
While there are about 24 systems to assess greenbuildings, no green building standard has been officially issued inVietnam .
Kien from Vinaconex R&D said that abuilding surrounded by many trees and utilising advanced technologiesbut consuming more energy than it really needs could not be consideredgreen.
"Most architects in Vietnam are aware of thegreen building concept, but they are not equipped with the knowledgeneeded for the actual construction of a green building," said Kien.
He added that less than 100 architects in Vietnam are educated on the issue.
The ECC-HCM City reported that most new or recently renovatedbuildings don't have effective ways of reducing heat radiation, whichreduces the quality of air conditioning.
But thanks to growing awareness, green techniques have been recently applied in a few buildings.
One example is The Landmark, the building that took third prize in theASEAN Energy Efficient Buildings and Energy ManagementCompetition in 2010.
It has renovated its air-conditioningand lighting systems and managed to reduce its energy costs by 30percent, from 1 billion VND (47,600 USD) to only 300 million VND (14,300USD) per month.
The Vietnam Green Building Council is developing a set of standards for energy conservation in buildings in Vietnam . /.
Green architecture expertThierry Roche said that to design a green building, many aspects,including ecological conditions, people's health and the surroundingenvironment must be considered.
According to architectTran Hoang Kien from Vinaconex R&D Joint Stock Company, buildinginvestors are not well-informed on the effectiveness of energy saving.
He said that energy-saving designs enable investors to save costs in the long run, but they have to invest more at the start.
That is why investors are hesitant about investing in energy-savingmethods."As businessmen, they want to get maximum profit with minimuminvestment," Kien said. "They want to break even in two to five years."
Kien said that promoting the green building concept is difficult because there are few suppliers of energy-saving equipment.
Tran Khanh Trung, director of Tam Trung Thong Design Joint StockCompany, said construction costs for an energy-saving building are 50 to100 percent higher than for a normal building.
Accordingto the US Green Building Council, a green building must be located in astable position where traffic is easy, use water effectively, make fulluse of energy equipment, utilise energy-saving tools, take advantage ofrecycling methods and enable easy control over the use of energy inside.
While there are about 24 systems to assess greenbuildings, no green building standard has been officially issued inVietnam .
Kien from Vinaconex R&D said that abuilding surrounded by many trees and utilising advanced technologiesbut consuming more energy than it really needs could not be consideredgreen.
"Most architects in Vietnam are aware of thegreen building concept, but they are not equipped with the knowledgeneeded for the actual construction of a green building," said Kien.
He added that less than 100 architects in Vietnam are educated on the issue.
The ECC-HCM City reported that most new or recently renovatedbuildings don't have effective ways of reducing heat radiation, whichreduces the quality of air conditioning.
But thanks to growing awareness, green techniques have been recently applied in a few buildings.
One example is The Landmark, the building that took third prize in theASEAN Energy Efficient Buildings and Energy ManagementCompetition in 2010.
It has renovated its air-conditioningand lighting systems and managed to reduce its energy costs by 30percent, from 1 billion VND (47,600 USD) to only 300 million VND (14,300USD) per month.
The Vietnam Green Building Council is developing a set of standards for energy conservation in buildings in Vietnam . /.
