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The era of green architecture
First, it must be defined that “green architecture” is not simply a building with lots of trees. A truly green architectural project is made from environmentally friendly materials, making the most of natural light and air flow to minimize energy consumption. Green architecture is an architectural trend that creates living spaces with many amenities for people in a way that is less harmful to the environment to preserve the quality of life for the present and the future.
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Green architecture has long been applied with typical projects such as Nanyang University in Singapore.
In Asia, green architecture has long been applied with typical projects such as the Zero Carbon Building in Hong Kong, Nanyang University in Singapore or the JW Mariott Dongdaemun Hotel in Seoul, Korea. In Vietnam, this trend is also gradually becoming widespread, starting from office buildings such as President Place, Centre Point, public works such as Pouchen Kindergarten - Dong Nai, Big C - Di An shopping mall, to private housing projects. The most remarkable thing is that the green architecture trend not only sweeps through big cities, but also gradually enters the houses of ethnic minorities in the highlands. One of the most special green architecture projects awarded the Vietnam Green Architecture and Asia Green Architecture awards is the homestay community house in Nam Dam ethnic village, Quan Ba district, Ha Giang. With the idea of building on the foundation of the traditional wall house structure of the Dao people, the new design has been improved to make the most of natural light and wind, as well as reuse water resources on the mountainside for daily activities.
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Pouchen Kindergarten - Dong Nai
The environmental, economic and social benefits of green architecture are increasingly recognized, thanks to its energy-saving and greenhouse-effect reduction indicators. Dr. Pamela Phua - Director of Research & Development of exterior paint products in the AkzoNobel Global Decorative Paints Group believes that the future of architectural art is houses filled with green space with living spaces filled with the breath of nature and made from sustainable materials, thereby bringing a healthier life to homeowners. Currently, the scale of green architecture in Vietnam promises to be expanded rapidly due to the strong development of recycled materials, energy-saving materials and environmentally friendly materials.
Green materials – the essence of sustainable architecture
A green building must be made of environmentally friendly sustainable materials. These are materials that minimize negative impacts on the environment during the manufacturing, construction and use process, while still creating a certain comfort and convenience for users. This is also the requirement of designers, architects and contractors when implementing green projects.
Paint, although only a small proportion of a construction project’s investment budget, has the potential to make the building more sustainable. According to Dr. Pamela Phua, an environmentally friendly paint product must be water-based instead of oil-based (solvent), with low CO2 emissions and more energy-efficient. Dr. Phua also emphasized that a durable coating product is itself a sustainable green material because it helps reduce maintenance costs and limit harmful impacts on the environment.
In the market, the Dulux Professional paint line is a choice that fully satisfies these criteria. Dulux is one of the few brands that has been awarded the Green Label certification by the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) for its environmental safety. Products in the Dulux Professional category are all integrated with advanced technologies to relieve energy pressure on buildings. For example, the KeepCoolTM technology in the Weathershield exterior paint line reduces the outside wall temperature by up to 50C compared to conventional paints of the same color, partly solving the problem of energy saving in today's urban areas. In particular, the black color of the Weathershield paint line has the ability to reflect heat up to 30% while for other black paint products, the number only stops at a few percent. In addition, Weathershield is also a pioneer paint brand that establishes measurements and research on the harmful effects of weather on architecture to optimize product features. Calculations show that a house painted with Weathershield will be protected from 10,000 hours of sunlight, 2 million liters of rainwater and 6 tons of dirt within 6 years. Moreover, Weathershield Express exterior paint in the Dulux Professional range is integrated with a breakthrough two-layer painting system instead of the previous three-layer coating method. This not only helps contractors save time and effort, but also contributes to reducing the impact of paint on the surrounding environment. By paying attention to the smallest details during construction such as choosing paint, it is a step forward in the process of greening the earth with architectural works, greening Vietnam according to the world's green trend.
