Within the stabilize official staff and low income citizen life strategy, the Government has started social apartment program. That is a good and meaningful program. To possibility this program, improving construction cost is a key factor.
- While the other designers and investors try to find out the solution which make smaller unit and cut off the materials for saving cost, we find out the all-perspective to propose the complete solution for saving cost. That is reason why “Nest ≠ Cave” concept were proposed.
- When we have studied, we paid a good attention to technology of producing modular systems for saving cost. But within limited equipment and technology of the local, we considered to use containers. During studying containers has realized surprising result because the durability and the flexibility of combination helped to improve good price effectively, so we decided to use containers. To compatible with the local micro-climate, we used Cavity Wall & Green Roof system to be against direct radiation and cooling the buiding in summer for optimizing energy used.
Water and ground water level are important factors in Agriculture-City.
- NEST≠CAVE is located in Dong Thap Muoi wetland, is the main rice producing center of country.
- Design team paid all intention on protection water & groundwater level, proposed the solution to minimize the concreted ground level and increase the plant density on ground make sure storm water can get through.
- Ground water level is not only important for protection the water volume for river but also reinforcement for ground loading.
- Building remind the native flood house, ground floor is the public activities where people can meet, chat, etc. The place that communication and experience is transfered to next generation. We call that is Community Educational Hub. Where people feel happy and safe for them and their family.

- Dong Thap Muoi is an argricultural countryside, the terrain is lay on
wetland of Dong Thap Muoi, population’s income is not high as others in Vietnam.
- Because of an argricultural countryside, argricultural land protection is main strategy. When we have started to study housing program,the most design target is land used optimize. That is why you can see, there are no corridor and circulation on our proposed design.
- Dong Thap Muoi is one of the areas which are affected by the climate changed of all over the global, so the sustainable city is a factor which we have chosen for this building.
- Within a population explosion and lacking of community spaces, where literally people can live and grow up in, has caused a lot of unexpected result in our society. While commercial residences we only solved out the facilities for a specific group of people but with social residences we have to solve out the whole community facility.
- To solve out these issues above, we separated living demand to be 8 sections in 2 groups as internal and external.
1. Dinning( internal).
2. Relaxing( internal).
3. Sleeping (internal).
4. Learning(internal).
5. Events(external).
6. Shopping(external).
7. Sport(external).
8. Entertaining(external).
+ For 4 external groups, we proposed on the ground level.
+ For 4 internal groups, we combine to be a typical unit. If we consider a typical unit as a “Nest”, the whole building( is interleaved among many units orderly) is a “Cave”. Nest and Cave is the way of thinking of traditional architecture of functionalism and contemporary architecture of combination.