​​Vo Trong Nghia and his team want to build prefabricated homes for less than US$ 4,000 that can resist earthquakes, floods, and typhoons. Thrilled by the project, the first beneficiary of the bamboo and coconut leaf prototype home is a farmer in the Mekong Delta. NGOs and international organisations are ready to support large-scale use of this technology.

Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews/Agencies) - The new bamboo and coconut leaf house looks a lot like other houses in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. However, unlike them, this seemingly simple abode is designed to withstand typhoons, flooding and earthquakes. And at a cost of less than US,000, it could herald a new wave of cheap, sustainable housing.

Architect Vo Trong Nghia and his team are behind the design, which could herald new low-cost housing solutions for communities in the Mekong Delta, as well as elsewhere in Asia.

The natural materials on its surface belie the hi-tech internal structure of the new home, which uses steel struts and wall panels as a defence against the elements in this natural disaster-prone region.

"The new house is safer, I'm not afraid that it will collapse," said Vo Van Duong, a 48-year-old papaya farmer, nine months after moving into his hew house.

Duong added that neighbours envy his house, and that he is not afraid that it might collapse.

The eco-home is the brainchild of Vo Trong Nghia, one of Vietnam's foremost architects, a leader in low-cost housing designed to withstand natural disasters and the effects of climate change.

His first S-House 2 was free, but if rolled-out on a wider scale, it could be sold for less than US$ 4,000. For Vo, all architects have a duty to help the poor through sustainable housing.

"What about those with low income, billions of them, how can they live?" Nghia said. "They have the right to live in comfortable, functional places."

At present, Nghia's design is still being refined by his team, who are aiming to create a flat-pack home. The newest version, the S-House 3, can be built by five people in three hours. However, "Our goal for S-house is for the owner to construct it by themselves," said Kosuke Nishijima, who is a partner in the firm.

The latest design also allows for several houses to be tacked together. Such a function could allow, for example, the construction of storm-proof schools and other public buildings, easily transportable to remote areas. They could also be turned into larger family homes.

Nghia, who likes to use natural and local materials in his work, has already attracted the interest of NGOs and organisations working in areas prone to natural disasters, like Bangladesh and the Philippines, but he is not yet ready to supply houses commercially.

The Vietnamese architect is in strong demand for high-end projects from hotels to private houses, but noted that the low-cost S-House is his personal obsession.

"I want to live in [an] S-House. If my family agrees," he said.

• vietnam
• mekong
• delta
• vo
• trong
• nghia
• low-cost
• weather
• resistant
• housing