doan thanh ha
Natural disasters are uncool yet increasingly common (thanks, climate change). So a Vietnamese architecture firm created a prototype of the mythical Three Little Pigs house, one that Ma Nature can’t huff and puff down. Reports Fast Company:
Hanoi-based H&P Architects … have produced a new housing prototype capable of withstanding floods and powerful rainstorms and nimble enough to be assembled in about 25 days and for as little as $2,500. Elevated on stilts, the Blooming Bamboo — or Bb House — keeps occupants safe from elements, withstanding, according to the architects, up to 1.5-meter [5 foot] high floods.
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Impressive! (A version that’s resilient to waters twice as high is in the works.) But how’s it so sturdy?
The structure consists of cubic bamboo-framed bays stacked side-by-side and pinned down by steel poles and recycled oil drums. Interior partitions and exterior screens are fabricated from thin bamboo shoots — what the architects term “modules” — that are then strengthened by bamboo wattle and fiberboard.
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You might think such a hardy house would be rigid and immovable, but a bunch of aspects are adjustable. Residents can move the bamboo screens based on sun or rain, and skylights can open for ventilation. Plus, it’s actually really pretty — and made of a fast-growing natural resource. Hopefully we’ll be seeing more of these disaster-proof houses soon.
