Van Phu Invest: Dedicated to creating sustainable living space

In the midst of the increasingly strong urbanisation “whirlwind” in Vietnam, Van Phu – Invest remains determined to follow the company’s philosophy of dedication to creating a sustainable living space, making contribution to shaping “cities for people” in the context of market changing.

The urbanisation “whirlwind” and the matter of quality living spaces

Vietnam has experienced a rapid urbanisation process in the recent decade. According to statistics, the urbanisation rate nationwide (classified by the geographical areas and recognised as urban) increased speedily from 30.5% in 2010 to about 40% in 2020.

Urbanisation represents the socio-economic development of each country or region, however, the quantity does not always reflect properly and sufficiently the quality of urbanisation. 

Many projects are built at a “stormy-fast” speed, concrete blocks are hastily stacked on top of each other to create “soulless” construction, the picture of urban planning and landscape is disrupted. Among the suffocation and crampedness of compact cities, the elements of cultural identity and architectural culture are gradually forgotten.

According to expert judgments, the lack of thorough research in the construction of buildings leads to many impacts such as environmental pollution, water and air pollution, leaving serious consequences for mankind’s future. 

In recent years, many great efforts have been made in many metropolises worldwide in the realisation of the dream “cities for people”. Planning experts predicted that this will become the blueprint for future generations, a city for people. In order to accomplish this, just like you have to read a book to comprehend it, the building creators must understand human needs, the culture of each region, and the rhythm of the natural environment. Only then did the creators shape sustainable living spaces.

Buildings built based on the philosophy “for people”

With the philosophy of “dedication to creating life values”, for more than a decade, Van Phu – Invest has always followed the mission: bringing humane and practical life values to customers through outstanding design in the living space and environment.

In each project, instead of sketching first, Van Phu – Invest will start by studying, listening, and understanding to create a sustainable project from the beginning based on the philosophy of “taking people and the environment as the central elements”.

A quality living space must first meet the needs, characteristics, and lifestyle of indigenous people. More than that, respecting the laws of nature, soil, and climate conditions is also the best way to create a solid foundation for a house. Applying knowledge, state-of-the-art technology and science of a new era, Van Phu – Invest has combined and materialised those elements in balance in every project. Each building creation is a unique design via diligent research and investigation to achieve three key factors “auspicious natural and geographical conditions, and concord among the people”.

Situated in the heart of the capital, the Grandeur Palace – Giang Vo project converges the quintessence of Thang Long, the millennial capital. The landscape here is delicately designed to convey the season transition symphony of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.

The gateway entering the project is highlighted by the statues of 4 goddesses representing the 4 seasons of the year. The vegetation system here is also carefully selected, all are native plants to ensure their growth and each species is particular for a season. In the summer, the Grandeur Palace – Giang Vo enjoys a flower fiesta with brilliant bougainvillea blooming. Then autumn breezes bring in the scent of frangipani flowers. And when spring comes, gentle fragrance of pure and ethereal jasmine diffuses the energy of life all over the space.

While the North region is gracefully blessed with 4 seasons in a year with distinct temperature differences, the Southwest region is known with 2 main seasons: rainy season and dry season. Realising this feature, the Con Khuong New Urban Area project (Can Tho city) is designed differently based on meticulous studies on soil.

According to the representatives of Van Phu – Invest, in order to cope with the river water changes and strong tides, the foundation of the Con Khuong project is studied and designed to exceed the flood peak of 2019 by 350 – 450mm to prevent flooding and inundation during the rainy season. Simultaneously, the system of ecological lakes and landscape lakes directly connects to the Khai Luong River via water regulation gates, thereby helping to maintain the water level of the lake system in the dry season and regulate the amount of water in the flood season.

In addition, Vietnamese people from the ancient past have attached great importance to feng shui elements inside their houses, which is the harmony and balance with the natural geo-climate of each location. A living space that is well-lit with sunlight and lighting, being provided with sufficient fresh air and green elements, will bring prosperous energy and peacefulness to the owner.

Determined with the philosophy that every project takes the “human” factor as the centre, Van Phu – Invest devotes a lot of attention to exploring the lifestyles, customs, and habits of local people to build the Terra – An Hung project, a tranquil living space in the west of Hanoi.

The apartments here are designed with 2 loggias, in which: 1 loggia attached to the living room, designed with plants and vertical garden to avoid direct sunlight, and additionally, placed a multi-air conditioning system for such apartments; another loggia is arranged for the kitchen area to ensure direct access to fresh air and enhanced ventilation. This is also a place used for washing and drying to avoid losing the beauty of building’s façade, making it suitable to “customs and traditions” of Vietnam.

Particularly, in order to suit the lifestyle of the people in the North, in which the common and private spaces exist harmoniously, all apartments in the building are examined and arranged functionally to ensure the separation between dynamic spaces (living room, kitchen) and static spaces (bedrooms). The living and dining areas are combined into a spacious common space, suitable for the needs of each family as well as convenient to arrange a separate and solemn worship space to meet the ancestor worshiping customs of the Vietnamese family.

Communal spaces such as space for residential activites, utilities, votive burning area, kindergartens, parking areas, and green zones are studied to increase social connection in the community, satisfy the demand for communication in the “neighbourhood” lifestyles of the Vietnamese people, and contribute to creating a living community with spirit of unity, cohesion, and civilisation.

Understanding cultural values – a core factor in the creation of a real estate construction

“Culture does not easily leave mankind in any generation, it has passed down through generations, being a product of the nation. Each of us cannot let culture be lost… To build anything modern, we must be based on the cultural and traditional elements, feng shui foundation as well as spiritual elements of the Vietnamese people,” writer Nguyen Quang Thieu – Chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association said at the Seminar “Living spaces in modern cities”

Appreciating the values of culture, in the journey of creating real estate buildings, Van Phu – Invest pays special attention to the study of local identity to reflect the cultural characteristics and indigenous memories.

The honour for the local religious culture is shown specifically through the protection, repair or maintenance support of the cultural work “Ca Ong Temple” at the Vlasta – Sam Son project. This is a relic located in the landscape of the project, Van Phu – Invest decides to repair, restore and take care of this area so as to preserve the customs and spiritual beliefs of the local fishing village people existing from thousands of years ago.

Besides, those who have ever set foot in the Southwest region are deeply impressed with the rustic and genuine beauty of the landscape and sincere people here. Such distinctive features of the Southwest culture are all derived from rivers carrying fertile alluvium.

Recognising this important factor, in the project of Con Khuong New Urban Area (Can Tho), Van Phu – Invest has brought the indigenous ecosystem into the design of the environment, landscape and architecture of the project, especially integrating the “water” element cleverly into the living space.

Taking advantage of the “near river” location, a system of regulating and landscape lakes distributed through the project is created to connect the flow of the two rivers. The villas in the project are also specially designed with marvellous river view. Van Phu – Invest also designs and organises a scenic promenade along the project’s edge, alongside the two attractive rivers, providing a relaxing and spacious walking space for residents.

Additionally, in order to preserve the native flora, Van Phu – Invest uses aquatic plants that grow naturally in Con Khuong to create a system of embankment landscape, which is typical of rivers in the Southwest region. This also helps to support the sustainable growth of the natural ecosystem at the project.

Considering the traditional essence in architecture as the key to create contemporary spaces but still rich in cultural identity, we follow the principle “integrating but not dissolving”

In the context of urbanisation gradually disrupting the spaces that preserve national identity, the Grandeur Palace – Pham Hung (Hanoi) project is specially designed based on the inspiration from Ban Gioc waterfall and the image of Northern highland terraced fields. This architecture is like a hyphen implicating the memories and identity of the Vietnamese people, associated with the rice-growing civilisation and the imprint of the times. The special shape design and intelligently arranged façade louver system not only create a unique architectural feature for the project, but also adapt to the Northern climate conditions.

According to the representatives of Van Phu – Invest, when the temperature rises in the summer, the design of Grandeur Palace – Pham Hung helps create shadows on each floor, thereby minimising direct solar radiation into the building. Besides, the façade with the louver system also reduces the amount of direct sunlight entering the building, but still ensures an optimal view of the apartments, as well as maximum natural light and ventilation for the building.
It is expected that the project will become the highlight of Hanoi and one of the unique destinations of the North of Vietnam.

In the midst of market changing, all the projects of Van Phu – Invest, from mid-end to high-end segment, are always built based on the philosophy of dedication, with meticulous investment and analysis to bring about sustainable products and the best life values for customers.

Just like Mr. Jan Gehl – the architect devoted his whole life to studying cities for people – commented that “First we shape the cities – then they shape us.”. A building built from a thorough consideration of people and nature will carry sustainable values over time. And from there, the residents will contribute to creating a humane living environment, fostering a living culture, and spreading good values. It is what creates the values of the Van Phu – Invest brand and affirms the journey of “dedication” in each product.