Date of Submission
Summer 5-7-2021
Degree Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Architecture
Department
Architecture
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Ermal Shpuza
Secondary Advisor
Elizabeth Martin
Abstract
Throughout Vietnam's wet season, flooding is a reality that residents face annually. Vietnam's wet season is known to cause serious detriment to communities, and severe weather conditions are becoming more frequent due to climate change. The annual high tides are rising every year. Flooding within dwellings can already reach up to waist or shoulder height and even beyond. Blocking the floods with dikes and other structures can only help to an extent. Water will go somewhere. Elevating a structure also has a limit - many residents have already elevated the ground level of their home to the maximum height that still allows for their transportation mode inside. They will also typically clear out their ground floors and live primarily on the monsoon season's upper levels. The monsoon season typically lasts for three months, where the land will be under nearly constant rainfall. People will still perform their daily rituals to the best of their ability in that period, and they will wade through the murky waters to commute. This study aims to design a space and structure that can mitigate the effects of flooding in the residents' daily lives, regardless of the time of the year.
By designing a covered urban structure that can transform public areas, there will be higher safety levels and more opportunities to work and play. This study will focus on the city of Da Nang in central Vietnam. A concrete plaza in the Son Tra District occasionally hosts the Son Tra Night Market and other social events. The plaza may get flooded to the point where there is no social activity for weeks or months, depending on the year's flood conditions. Research shows that I can design a public space that can be used year-round by providing shelter from sounds and pollutants of the nearby urban environment while working with the moderate flood condition of the average monsoon season, even with climate change.
Three structures are working in tandem in the marketplace. The kiosks are enclosed into their own environment, and the boardwalk is protected from the rain and wind by the skin. The skin is an enclosure reminiscent of a dragon as an homage to the surrounding dragon bridge to the west and dragon port to the North-west. It is still porous, letting in light and allowing views to the riverside. When the market gets flooded, people can navigate on the pier-like boardwalk that connects the kiosks. The flood is a part of the market experience from October to December.