Vietnamese architecture studio VTN Architects, who is WAC Professional Member, has built a welcome center by using a bamboo grid made from 42,000 bamboo culms in Phu Quoc, Vietnam.

The project, called Grand World Phu Quoc Welcome Center, was realized as part of the Grand World Phu Quoc masterplan, which is the center of the massive Phu Quoc United Center - a brand new tourism-resort-entertainment complex in northern Phu Quoc Island.

The 1,460-square-metre building is entirely built from a bamboo material that embodies the Vietnamese cultures and aims to become a symbol of the entire masterplan project, attracting tourists to Grand World Phu Quoc.

VTN Architects (Vo Trong Nghia Architects) is known for its intense use of greenery and bamboo materials in its projects. 

VTN Architects' Binh House in Vietnam is also competing in the WA Awards 40th Cycle to be the winner of this Cycle. 

WA Honorary Members and previous cycles' WA Awards Winners and WA Community Members, who have at least 1 project that was uploaded 1 month ago in their WAC pages, may go ahead and click here to Vote for their preferred projects by Sunday, 10 April (23:59 GMT +0).

"We managed to satisfy the requirements of the client, creating a unique bamboo structure that embodies Vietnamese culture and is a symbol of Grand World Phu Quoc," said VTN Architects. 

The office sculpted two traditional Vietnamese symbols to create this structure: the lotus and the bronze drum - the two elements are translated into the dense layers of bamboo grid, expressing the traditional Vietnamese cultures.  

To create an ecological structure, the use of materials plays an important role without needed any additional technological devise. 

The project is energy efficient, using natural and low-cost sustainable material - in design and in construction, the bamboo culms are connected by using only ropes and bamboo pins and come together and creates this sculptural appearance. 

While the office does not use any artificial air conditioners, artificial lighting is minimized so that it can only be used at night.

"The construction process of bamboo itself is unique," according to VTN Architects, who is led by founder Vo Trong Nghia. 

"We have perfected this into a standard and the construction process here is a bit more advance in terms of transportation (we had to move bamboo into an island) and precision (several systems together require utmost precision)."

"The joint system is challenging since we employ a lot of structural systems and the details of them meeting each other is challenging," the studio added.

"The structural system of Vinpearl Phu Quoc is hybrid." "Vinpearl’s structural system combines arches, domes, and grid systems together, which accumulates our knowledge in using bamboo for various structural forms together," the studio added.

According to the studio, the spatial quality in this project is influenced by the hybrid structural systems. Here, even though the structure is complex with dense layers of systems interlocking each other’s, the space is very open and transparent. 

The space is left completely open because of the nature of the systems and the way the architects join the bamboo elements together. 

This is applied due to the nature of the simple joint system, which includes only ropes and low-cost fixing elements. "The modular and bracing nature of our frames also increases the transparency of the structure," added the studio. 

The nature of the grid system also allows natural ventilation to enter in through the grids. 

The transparency of the space with the surrounding grid system, along with the arch pathway throughout the whole structure, linking the inside and the outside. The openness and transparency also allow natural lighting to come from the side and through the opening on the roof. 

Based on the sculptural form of the building, the light comes in beautifully, along with the natural colour of bamboo, creates a warm and intimate atmosphere, even though the structure is very open in terms of airflow. 

The space becomes a combination of hard and soft spaces. 

The grid is very systematic and precise, combined with soft bamboo arches and domes make people surprise whilst entering the space. 

According to the firm, this is an ideal project showcasing the significance and originality of their bamboo architecture because of some major characteristics because the project uses natural material without any chemical treatment, using 42,000 culms in total. 

The project is a pure bamboo structure and energy efficient building, using natural and low-cost sustainable material. It also expresses traditional Vietnamese symbols.

Site plan

Ground floor plan

Roof plan

Section

Sections

Design details diagram

Construction details 

Cross section 2

Lotus dome

Founded in 2006 by Vo Trong Nghia, VTN Architects (Vo Trong Nghia Architects) is a leading architectural practice in Vietnam with offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. More than 60 international architects, engineers and staff work closely on cultural, residential and commercial projects worldwide.

VTN Architects won WA Awards with 7 projects to date, including Ha House, Farming Kidergarten and Nocenco Cafe - which was made of intense layers of bamboo. 

Project facts

Principal Architect: Vo Trong Nghia, Nguyen Tat Dat

Design team: Nguyen Van An, Tu Minh Dong, Bui Quang Huy, Manh Trong Danh, Thai Khac Phuc.

Completion: April 2021

Location: Phu Quoc, Vietnam

Size: 1,460m2

Bamboo contractor: VTN Architects

All images © Hiroyuki Oki

All drawings © VTN Architects

> via VTN Architects