Announcement of housing design competition rules

September 12, 2019

Date:      12th September 2019
Event:    The announcement of housing design competition rules
Venue:    Vietnam Institute of Architecture
   
Mr. Do Thanh Tung, Director of Vietnam Institute of Architecture;
Dr. Nguyen Quang, Habitat Programme Manager in Viet Nam
Mr. Nguyen Manh Khoi, Deputy Director of Housing Management and Real Estate Market Department;
Mr. Le Quang Tuan, Vice Director of International relation and Science Technology Dept./Vietnam Disaster Management Authority.

Colleagues from the Government agencies, UN agencies, Architectures and Students.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

I am delighted to join all of you in announcing the rules of the competition "Designing safe houses - sustainable communities with climate change in the coastal areas”.

Over the past months, UNDP has been honoured to partner with VNDMA to organize series of awareness raising events such as: The School Ambassadors in Disaster Risks Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation; The Launch of mangrove plantation in Ca Mau.

Today we are pleased to participate in this event which is part of the Government-UNDP-GCF project, titled “Improving the Resilience of Vulnerable Coastal Communities to Climate change related Impacts in Viet Nam”. With strong support and collaboration of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Construction and participating provinces, the project has constructed and handed over more than 1,600 resilient houses to the poor and women-headed households since the end of 2017, and we will build further 2,400 houses in next two years.

A house is considered to be the most valuable asset for any of us in any part of the world, but it is also a vulnerable object in the context of increasing natural disasters and climate change. In 2018 alone, more than 31,000 houses in Vietnam were impacted by flooding and damaged by natural disasters.

This competition is the first in a series and aims at exploring viable designs for safe homes, neighbourhoods, and communities that can better withstand floods and storms, incorporating smart/innovative solutions, culturally and climatically appropriate. This competition is especially important in: (i) helping raise awareness on the importance of storm resilient housing, and (ii) motivating architects, students, and development practitioners to innovate and meaningfully contribute to housing designs in coastal provinces.

The Competition and its outcomes will also contribute to the design of the Government’s upcoming resilient housing programmes for 28 coastal provinces, which can have long-term impacts in lifting families out of poverty and in ensuring safety and security in light of the more intense and frequent weather events associated with climate change.

I would like to encourage the participation of all interested stakeholders and look forward to working closely with you all to make this competition a great success!

Wishing you good health and happiness,

Xin Cam On!