Inspired by the rhythm of the rainy season each October, Vietnamese architecture firm Tropical Space opened a flood-resistant studio for local artist Le Huc Da, dubbed Terra Cotta Studio, in 2016. Each year, the monsoon waters consume the lower reaches of the striking cube-shaped structure — but rather than sweeping it away, the rising tide flows gently through its perforated brick walls. The studio's lattice-brick design also harnesses airflow and shade to withstand central Vietnam's unforgiving climate.
In 2023, the architects expanded the project with Terra Cotta Workshop, a neighboring facility featuring studio space for other local artists, as well as a large kiln and visitor center. Inside, artisans store their work on 6.5-foot‑high platforms, above the highest flood levels seen in the village this century. The workshops' electric wiring was installed three feet above the ground, and equipment can be moved safely to high shelves during monsoons.
"We did not design the structure to resist or oppose the water," Tropical Space's co-founder, Nguyen Hai Long, said of the original studio building in an email interview. "Instead, it stands there and quietly observes the rise and fall of the river."
Nguyen is part of a new generation of architects in the country, turning to local materials and time-honored building techniques — not only the distinctive brickwork but also stilted foundations and floating bamboo platforms — as enduring tools of climate resilience.
These architectural solutions, rooted in centuries of climate adaptation, may eventually have an impact beyond Vietnam.
Read more at the link in @cnnclimate's bio.
📸: Oki Hiroyuki; Le Minh Hoang; Herve Gouband/Alisa Production
The UK construction sector displayed meaningful movement toward sustainability and measurable decarbonisation during the past week. The Alliance for Sustainable Building Products strengthened the ACAN Circular Economy Policy Campaign, signalling stronger support for circular economy in construction. The partnership aims to embed life cycle thinking in construction through improved material reuse, reduced reliance on virgin resources, and end-of-life reuse in construction. This approach reinforces sustainable construction practices by shifting attention to building lifecycle performance and whole life carbon assessment, ensuring that sustainability becomes measurable through transparent carbon data from design to demolition.
Equans, the energy and services arm of Bouygues, achieved Building a Safer Future ‘Champion’ status, demonstrating both compliance and leadership in sustainable building design. The recognition highlights its role in retrofit projects where embodied carbon in materials and life cycle cost carry weight equal to financial metrics. Equans’ work in regenerating existing housing stock supports low carbon design and promotes net zero whole life carbon outcomes, setting a benchmark for green construction that integrates resource efficiency in construction with rigorous whole life carbon analysis.
A key development came from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, whose review of energy-from-waste processes pinpointed plastic’s lingering presence in material streams. The proposed reforms encourage a shift toward renewable building materials and more responsible waste strategies, aligning with environmental sustainability in construction goals and reducing the carbon footprint of construction. The review also stresses that circular construction strategies contribute to net zero carbon buildings, supporting eco-friendly construction systems and reducing environmental impact through lifecycle assessment and whole life carbon metrics.
Climate Analytics advanced the conversation on decarbonising the built environment by urging major global polluters in cement and fossil fuel industries to fund direct air carbon capture and storage. By placing financial responsibility on carbon-intensive producers, sustainable material specification and embodied carbon reduction become drivers for cost management and carbon footprint reduction. The anticipated result is a market environment that rewards low embodied carbon materials and low carbon construction materials, providing long-term life cycle cost benefits while propelling the transition to carbon neutral construction.
Further evidence of circular economy integration emerged from research into telecommunications infrastructure, demonstrating that applying eco-design for buildings principles across all built assets—including masts and modular structures—can deliver both sustainability and economic return. The study supports life cycle cost optimisation and reinforces green building products as viable contributors to sustainable urban development. Across every project, from retrofits to new builds, the emphasis is moving decisively toward sustainable building practices that deliver measurable outcomes in carbon reduction, resource efficiency, and net zero carbon performance within the broader fabric of an environmentally responsible and resilient construction sector.
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