Paul Christiansen

in Environment

Saigon's Weather Dude Is Dedicated to Keeping Saigoneers Dry This Rainy Season

Why is it raining in Saigon? Because it’s the rainy season. Sure, but if you want to be more specific, you can cite conditions in the Bay of Bengal, more than 2,500 kilometers away. It’s there that the wind conditions form that flow across the Gulf of Thailand, sucking up the moisture that drenches Vietnam’s southern metropolis. 

in Architecture

In the Era of Constant Rebuilding, We Turn to Vietnamese Modernism for Nostalgic Comfort

For two years now, I've checked the Vietnamese Modernist Architecture Facebook group almost every day. Here, members post ...

in Environment

How Laos's Dams Are Powering Vietnam, Other ASEAN Nations Despite Mekong Concerns

Following a spate of foreign investment in the 1990s, Laos began producing surplus electricity and looked to export it. Today, around 80% of its energy, largely from hydropower, is sold to neighbors. Electricity exports from Laos generate around US$2.6 billion for what is one of the poorest nations in mainland Southeast Asia. Across the region, neighbors including Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia have become reliant on hydropower from Laos. Slowly but surely, however, this is changing.

in Architecture

A Pop-up Night Park Brings the Joy of Playing in the Rain to Phú Mỹ Hưng

A lack of public spaces and activities has been a chronic problem plaguing Saigon’s urban planning since the city experienced its first population boom a few decades ago. If you happen to be near District 7 in the next two months, a pop-up park could be a new option for children, and perhaps some particularly exuberant adults, to frolic in the rain and the evening.

Elise Luong

in Environment

Living, Learning, Loving From the Earth at Ninh Bình's Lá Library

A stone's throw away from Cúc Phương National Park in Ninh Bình Province sits Lá Library, an education center promoting sustainable living through sustainable agriculture farming, earthen building techniques and the art of chilling out.

in Architecture

The Saigon House That Swapped Its Front Door for a Moat

Does a house need walls?

Paul Christiansen

in Natural Selection

Is the Yeti Vietnamese? This Ancient Ape Might Hold the Answer.

Can you name a Vietnamese animal that hasn’t been hunted to the precipice of extinction or become a commodified item whose flesh, fur, or feathers are only deemed significant in relation to their practical use by humans?

in Architecture

This Suburban Hanoi House Answers 'Yes' to 'How Many Windows Do You Want?'

Do you love the tropical summer? Does bathing in the warmth of the sun spark joy in you? How many windows are enough to solar-power your everyday life? If you, too, are toiling with these existential concerns on a daily basis, perhaps this recent residential project might provide some inspiration.

Back Society

in Development

World’s Tallest Broadcasting Tower To Be Built In Hanoi

Plans are in the works for what will be by far the tallest structure in Vietnam.

in Tech

Microsoft To Move 2 Nokia Factories From China To Vietnam For Lower Labor Costs

It looks like Vietnam’s master plan to lure global tech companies is panning out with the announcement last week that Microsoft is closing two of its handset plants in China and moving operations to V...

in Development

15 Projects That Will Change Saigon Forever: Part 1

The area between Bến Thành Market and the Saigon Opera House is undeniably the epicenter of changes to the city’s urban fabric with the construction of pedestrian promenades, subway stations, a n...

in Development

Inside Nhà Bè District's "B House"

This small but impressive home in Saigon's Nhà Bè District was built on a premise of “open but introverted space.” The structure, designed by i.House Architecture and Construction, feat...

in Development

US$100 Million Budgeted To Return A Saigon Canal To Its Former Glory

Hàng Bàng Canal, formerly known as Canal Bonard, will soon receive a massive US$100 million renovation in a bid to return the narrow brackish creek into a clean, manicured waterway.

in Health

Medical Musings: Dengue Fever

Dengue fever is the most common mosquito-transmitted viral illness in the world. It is seen in Vietnam and over 120 other sub-tropical and tropical countries, wherever the Aedes aegypti mosquito is fo...

in Tech

Google.vn Hacked By "Lizard Squad"

This afternoon, users attempting to connect to the Google.vn homepage were greeted by text, a photo and video courtesy of what appears to be a small collective of American hackers.

in Architecture

[Photos] Da Nang House Inspired by Termite Mounds and Champa Architecture

The Termitary House, recently completed by Tropical Space Architects in Da Nang's Thanh Khe District, gets its inspiration from both intricate termite mounds and the baked-brick towers of the Cha...

in Tech

New Website Uses Travelers To Deliver Items To Those Aboard

A new website, Bringers.co, offers to make deliverymen (and women) out of people traveling abroad.

in Development

Future Saigon: Saigon Green Energy Tower

Another ambitious project for Saigon’s Võ Văn Kiệt Street is in the works with plans for a 53-story (for reference, the Bitexco Tower is 68 stories) mega project.

in Environment

2 Bicyclists Set To Ride From Saigon To Paris To Raise Awareness Of Climate Change

On Thursday February 12, Simon Nelson and Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan will set off on a bicycle ride from Saigon to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP21) in order t...

in Architecture

Vietnamese School Wins Top Award At International Architecture Competition

Vo Trong Nghia had added to its list of international accolades, taking home top honors for its Farming Kindergarten in the recent Archdaily “Building of the Year” awards.

in Tech

[Video] Alibaba Tests Drone Delivery Service In China

Chinese online retail giant, Alibaba, has taken a page out of Amazon’s playbook, launching a three-day drone delivery pilot program.

in Tech

Vietnam Hopes To Launch 4G LTE This Year

As public WIFI spreads across Vietnam’s streets, cities and transportation networks, plans are in the works to upgrade the country’s mobile internet to 4G LTE status.

in Environment

22 Photos That Reveal How Bad Pollution Has Become In China

While pollution is becoming a serious problem in Vietnam with reports of cancer villages and toxic canals popping up the press recently, we live in a natural utopia compared with the residents of Chin...

in Tech

Vietnam’s First Nuclear Power Plant Faces Another Setback

Due to slowing economic growth and safety concerns, the construction of Vietnam’s first nuclear reactor has been delayed yet again. 

in Development

Saigon Ranked 6th Most Dynamic City In Recent Report

Saigon ranked 6th in a report released last month that graded 120 cities across the world based on real estate and socioeconomic factors.

in Development

Construction Has Begun On The US$200m Thu Thiem Bridge 2

At a ceremony yesterday afternoon, authorities formally kicked-off construction of the Thủ Thiêm 2 Bridge which will stretch across the Saigon River from Tôn Đức Thắng Street to the Thủ Thiêm peninsul...

in Development

4 Vietnamese Projects Finalists for ArchDaily’s Building of the Year Awards

Four buildings from Vietnamese "starchitecture" firm, Vo Trong Nghia, have been named finalists for Archdaily’s “Building of the Year” Awards.

in Development

Most Machinery Used In Vietnamese Businesses Dates Back To The 1960s-70s

Although Vietnam has been attracting plenty of high-tech industry recently, with companies like Samsung and Intel building large factories in the country, most local enterprises are sma...