Natural Architecture 1: wNw cafe

I have decided to do a feature on great buildings built with natural materials. I would like your input on their aesthetic, their longevity, functionality and anything else you can think off. I will start off with the vietnamese Architect Vo Trong Nghia and I will try not to do more than three posts on him throughout this series. Seriously I will, if i fail, o' well at lease I tried...This is cafe wNw near Hanoi in Vietnam, constructed predominantly of bamboo and very little steel. The roof is made of little pieces of bamboo. 

What I enjoy most about this project in my post 'tree hugger, save the planet lets recycle anything' is the fact that it's a very good representation for me of indigenous architecture. Because (yes I start sentences with because) of the material used very little energy was used to construct the building, therefore it is truly a green building, according to the Green Star Rating system. Let me explain what I mean; bamboo grows fast as a result material costs are low and material manufacturing process' do not harm the environment. The highest skills required to use it is semi-skilled labour therefore it promotes the use of local labour. Traditional means of treatment have been used, therefore again less harm for the environment; I hardly think that in the olden days they had JIK, the bleach follow my thought pattern. Its a traditional building that fits into the modern architectural fabric of a city and as for longevity,....i do not know enough about the longevity of bamboo to comment, but should deconstruction be requried, its a plant! It will go right back into nature, without harming it.

 

Photographs: Vo Trong Nghia website and other sources