Vietnam architect builds low-cost, high-tech home

Longan, Vietnam

VO Van Duong's bamboo and coconut leaf house looks much like others deep in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. But unlike them, his seemingly simple abode is designed to withstand typhoons, flooding and earthquakes - and at a cost of less than US$4,000, could herald a new wave of cheap, sustainable housing.

The natural materials on its surface belie the high-tech internal structure of the farmer's 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," the 48-year-old papaya farmer told AFP from inside the house that he moved into nine months ago.

Mr Duong is testing a prototype by an award-winning Vietnamese architecture firm looking for low-cost housing solutions for communities vulnerable to climate change. His S-House 2 was free, but if rolled out on a wider scale, could be sold for less …