[Video] Saigon to Get Another LEED Certified Building Next Year

Saigon’s District 8 will soon be home to a LEED standard apartment project, one of the first in the country to meet the international green building benchmark.

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The US$57.2 million development is the brainchild of Phuc Khang Corporation, which has tapped Green Consult Asia to develop the project in accordance with the LEED standards developed by U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), reports Vietnam Plus.

First put forward in 1998, LEED ratings are based on the design, construction, operation and maintenance of buildings, homes and neighborhoods. Over the past 17 years, the standard has been applied to over 54,000 projects across 135 countries as developers look to balance development with environmental sustainability.

Covering 1.68 hectares, the residential complex will include three apartment blocks connected by a 5,000sqm sky park.

“Phuc Khang Corporation General Director Luu Thi Thanh Mau said the Diamond Lotus project will be blanketed by green with its apartments designed to welcome direct sunshine, wind and fresh air as if they were villas in the air,” wrote Vietnam Plus.

This is not the first LEED standard project in Vietnam. President Place, which opened in 2012, was the first to meet LEED guidelines, while the German House, which is expected to open in 2017, also aims to comply with the benchmark. Still, Diamond Lotus will be among the city's other green building pioneers with a scheduled completion date set for 2016.

Hopefully, this project and similar efforts from local architects such as Vo Trong Nghia Architects are just the start of a green building trend in Vietnam, especially as the country climbs the list of greenhouse gas emitters.