Promoting Sustainability and Resilience in Vietnam’s Floating Community: The Assessment of Innovative Housing Units and Materials for Adaptation to Climate Change Von der Fakultät für Architektur, Bauingenieurwesen und Stadtplanung der Brandenburgischen Technischen Universität Cottbus–Senftenberg zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades eines Dr.-Ing. genehmigte Dissertation vorgelegt von M.Sc. Thi Thu Trang Nguyen aus Hai Phong, Vietnam Gutachter: Prof. Ilija Vukorep BTU C-S Gutachter: Prof. Horst Stopp BTU C-S Gutachterin: Prof. Dr. Vu Thi Hanh UAH Tag der Disputation: 11.02.2021 DOI: 10.26127/BTUOpen-5455 Preface The enthusiasm for this thesis started with my fascination for floating villages in LanHa Bay, Catba is located off the coast of Hai Phong City where, which is my hometown. When I was a child, I visited often floating villages in LanHa Bay. Since the first time of visiting, I was charmed by colorful houses floating on the sea combined in harmony with the surrounding limestone mountains. The impressive images of the unique architecture of floating houses, vivid aquatic life style and peaceful life in the nature, created a brilliant painting that has remained in my mind since. As I grew up and became an architect, I had greater interest in floating villages in Vietnam. In 2014, I was upset to hear that there was a demolition plan to remove floating villages in Halong Bay, located nearby LanHa Bay. The reason of demolition mentioned is to protect World heritage nature from the pollution due to uncontrolled rapid growth of floating villages at the locality. At that moment, I decided to study floating architecture in Vietnam as the topic of my Phd thesis. The decision to study floating architecture was based on the personal belief that floating houses are not only a unique type of architecture which need to be preserved, but also they offer a potential type of accommodation in near future. Instead of demolition, scientists and government should find the long term solutions to solve the existing problems of floating villages and promote sustainability and resilience of floating communities in the context of social and climate change. I decided to study and to gain deeper knowledge, experience and innovations from other countries to create a new vision for the development of floating architecture in Vietnam. The research provide guideline to create sustainable floating settlements. I wish that my research assists the government and related agencies to formulate official management policies and floating building codes in Vietnam in coming years. I Acknowledgment First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my research supervisor Prof. Ilija Vukorep for the continuous support of my Ph.D study and research, for his motivation, sincerity, enthusiasm, and immense knowledge. His guidance helped me in all the time of research and writing of this thesis. It was a great privilege and honor to work and study under his guidance. I am extremely grateful for his encouragement and help in solve difficulties of studying and living abroad with a little daughter. Besides my advisor, I would like to thank the other members of my thesis committee: Prof. Karen Eisenloffel, Prof. Stopp Horst, and Prof. Dr. Vu Thi Hanh, for their encouragement, insightful comments, and hard questions. I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to Prof. Stopp Horst for his dynamism, vision, motivation have deeply inspired me, for giving me opportunities to do research projects related to my thesis. I am extending my thanks to the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam and The Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus–Senftenberg for their financial support during my research work. I also thank all my colleagues in Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture and in the Institute for Floating Buildings for their constant encouragement and help throughout this research work. I am extremely grateful to my parents for their love, prayers, caring and sacrifices for educating and preparing me for my future. I am very much thankful to my deceased Father who has been following and blessing me, to my Mother for her love and helping me take care my daughter during my research work. My special thanks goes to my little daughter. Her warm heart and love is the source of my power, courage, helping me through challenges to complete my thesis. I also want to apologize to her for what she has been suffering to accompany with me during the hard time of the past 5 years of research. II I would like to say thanks to my best friends Dr. Nigel Downes, Dr. Eman Shokry, Mr. Pham Anh Tu, Mr. Nguyen Qui Lam, and Mr. Eduard Volker for their genuine support to complete this thesis successfully. Finally, my thanks go to all the people who have supported me to complete successfully my dissertation directly or indirectly. Thank you Dankeschön Cảm ơn III Summary Climate change is one of the most pressing global challenges of the 21st Century. According to the United Nations, Vietnam with a coastline of more than 3600 km, is one of top 30 countries facing an “extremely high risk” from the impacts of climate change over the next 30 years. Research undertaken in Vietnam indicates that significant impacts due to sea level rise have already occurred, resulting in the increased unpredictability and severity of coastal problems, such as land-loss, flooding of low lying coastal areas, accelerated coastal erosion, all which directly impacts the local population residing in the coastal region. Moreover, due to sea level rise, the amount of land available for development along the coast and further highly populated low lying land such as in the Mekong Delta will decrease. Facing these risks requires government and experts to urgently find effective solutions to ensure adequate space for residents in low-lying coastal areas. The current solutions being discussed are not only traditionally raising accommodation or resettlement to higher areas, or “living with the water”, but also a view of “living on the water”. In this case, floating architecture is seen as an effective solution for many low lying coastal areas all over the world and in Vietnam in particular. In fact that, Vietnam has a long history of floating settlements with a large number of floating villages. However, these floating villages are built with dilapidated houses which are built on rafts, and most floating settlements have been threaten by several socio-cultural, economic and environmental factors. Therefore, the main purpose of the research is to upgrade floating architecture in Vietnam to a higher level and standard adapting to climate change and social change. The research will provide methods and innovation tools to bridge the gap between existing floating house, as an unsafe and inconvenient type of accommodation, and contemporary housing needs in water bodies to allow for a fit between traditional designing experience and contemporary innovation of floating architecture. IV Based on lessons and innovations of floating architecture development in other countries, as well as based on the traditional experience and vernacular architecture of floating houses in Vietnam, the research will create theoretical frameworks, guidelines and design criteria for sustainable floating houses and floating settlements. The sustainable concept focuses on both sustainability and affordability when using innovative floating structures and materials in accordance with the local climatic and social condition of Vietnam, as well as adapting to climate change and sea level rise. The study will not only protect existing floating villages, preserve aquatic lifestyle that ensure a stable and permanent living on the water for inhabitants, but also improve floating architecture for modern demands and resilient living adapting to social change and climate change in Vietnam. V Zusammenfassung Der Klimawandel ist eine der dringendsten globalen Herausforderungen des 21. Jahrhunderts. Laut den Vereinten Nationen ist Vietnam mit einer Küstenlinie von mehr als 3600 km eines der 30 Länder, die in den nächsten 30 Jahren einem "extrem hohen Risiko" durch die Auswirkungen des Klimawandels ausgesetzt sind. Untersuchungen in Vietnam haben ergeben, dass die Auswirkungen des Meeresspiegelanstiegs bereits erheblich sind, was zu einer erhöhten Unvorhersehbarkeit und Schwere von Küstenproblemen führt: Z.B. Landverlust, Überflutung von niedrig gelegenen Küstengebieten und beschleunigter Küstenerosion, welche direkte Auswirkungen auf die in der Küstenregion lebende Bevölkerung hat. Darüber hinaus wird durch den Anstieg des Meeresspiegels die verfügbare Fläche für die Bebauung entlang der Küste und weiterer stark besiedelter, tief liegender Gebiete wie im Mekong-Delta abnehmen. Um diesen Risiken zu begegnen, müssen Regierung und Experten dringend effektive Lösungen finden, um den Bewohnern der tief liegenden Küstengebiete ausreichend Platz zu bieten. Die derzeit diskutierten Lösungen sind nicht nur die traditionelle Anhebung der Unterkünfte oder die Umsiedlung in höher gelegene Gebiete oder das "Leben mit dem Wasser", sondern auch die Sichtweise des "Lebens auf dem Wasser". In diesem Fall wird die schwimmende Architektur als eine effektive Lösung für viele niedrig gelegene Küstengebiete auf der ganzen Welt und insbesondere in Vietnam gesehen. In der Tat hat Vietnam eine lange Geschichte von schwimmenden Siedlungen mit einer großen Anzahl von schwimmenden Dörfern. Diese schwimmenden Dörfer bestehen jedoch aus baufälligen Häusern, die