Last updated: March 2023
The Urban Farm Office building, is a concrete-framed structure covered in a "vertical farm" of vegetables, fruits and herbs. The building was constructed by the Vietnamese architectural firm Vo Trong Nghia (VTN) Architects in early 2022 as its own headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City. It aims to promote the production of safe food while reintroducing green space to the city with a façade covered in vegetation. Furthermore, the project also seeks to address the absence of green space that contributes to a number of socioeconomic issues, including air pollution, flooding, and the heat island effect. VTN Architects' idea for the Urban Farming Office includes the area of space-efficient food production in cities through vertical urban farming in addition to the core objective of restoring vegetation to urban structures. (1, 3)
Urban Farming Office - Office of Vo Trong Nghia Architects
https://www.dezeen.com/2023/01/25/vo-trong-nghia-architects-vietnam-office-urban-fruit-vegetables-farm/
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Nature in buildings (indoor)
- Green walls and ceilings
- Nature on buildings (external)
- Green walls or facades
- Balcony greens
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Environmental quality
- Air quality improvement
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
- Sustainable production
Focus
Creation of new green areas
Project objectives
Urban Farming Office has two main goals to create a green, comfortable environment, adapted to climate change in tropical urban areas, and to contribute to the sustainable future of the city of Ho Chi Minh:
- Reintroduce green space to the city by creating a concrete-framed building covered in a "vertical farm" of vegetables, fruits and herbs.
- Address the lack of green space that contributes to a number of socioeconomic issues, including air pollution, flooding, and the heat island effect.
- Build the domain of space-efficient food production with minimum energy consumption in cities through vertical urban farming ( 1, 3)
Implementation activities
The Urban Farming Office is a private project developed and implemented in 2022 in a response to rapid urbanization and its effects in Ho Chi Minh City. The company that initiated the implementation is called VTN Architects and works included implementation of concrete planter boxes. These are designed to be modular so they can be replaced or moved relatively easily ensuring that the plants can be relocated to meet any changing growing and sunlight needs. Locally grown food plants, including fruit trees, vegetables, and herbs were selected in the rooftop area. Other plants were used in the hanging flora.
( 1, 2, 3, 4)
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Increase or improve urban vegetation cover to help reduce outdoor temperature
- Implement green walls or roofs to lower indoor temperature and provide insulation
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
Governance
Management set-up
- Led by non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Private sector/corporate actor/company
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Unknown
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
This project is led and financed by Vo Trong Nghia Architects firm (3)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
No
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Corporate investment
Type of funding
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
No
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Lowered local temperature
- Environmental quality
- Improved air quality
- Green space and habitat
- Reduced biodiversity loss
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Unknown
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
References
(1). Astbury, J. (2023). Vo Trong Nghia Architects wraps own office in urban fruit and vegetables farm. Available at Source link (Accessed on February 8, 2023).
(2). Brandy, K. (n.d.). Vo Trong Nghia's 'Urban Farm Office' Reintroduces Tropical Nature to Ho Chi Minh City. Available at Source link (Accessed on February 8, 2023).
(3). Elengical, J. (2023). VTN Architects’ Urban Farming Office is a creative eden wrapped in a biophilic facade. Available at Source link (Accessed on February 8, 2023).
(4). Luu, H. (2023). “Trang trại thẳng đứng" thu hoạch cả tấn cây trái của KTS Võ Trọng Nghĩa [Vo Trong Nghia's Urban Farming Office harvested tons of fruits]. Available at Source link (Accessed on February 8, 2023).
(2). Brandy, K. (n.d.). Vo Trong Nghia's 'Urban Farm Office' Reintroduces Tropical Nature to Ho Chi Minh City. Available at Source link (Accessed on February 8, 2023).
(3). Elengical, J. (2023). VTN Architects’ Urban Farming Office is a creative eden wrapped in a biophilic facade. Available at Source link (Accessed on February 8, 2023).
(4). Luu, H. (2023). “Trang trại thẳng đứng" thu hoạch cả tấn cây trái của KTS Võ Trọng Nghĩa [Vo Trong Nghia's Urban Farming Office harvested tons of fruits]. Available at Source link (Accessed on February 8, 2023).
Urban Farming Office
https://www.dezeen.com/2023/01/25/vo-trong-nghia-architects-vietnam-office-urban-fruit-vegetables-farm/
Urban Farming Office
https://www.dezeen.com/2023/01/25/vo-trong-nghia-architects-vietnam-office-urban-fruit-vegetables-farm/
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the "NBS 2022" UNA Asian extension project funded by the Asia-Europe Foundation.