HA NOI (VNS)  — A Green Kindergarten Design competition was launched yesterday to raise awareness about energy efficiency and green buildings in Viet Nam, while training the country's future architects and planners to adhere to sustainable building standards.

The event is aimed at collecting ideas on how to turn a traditional and over-crowded kindergarten into an energy efficient and green infrastructure for preschoolers in the city's My Dinh urban area.

The competition is targeting architecture students, requiring all applicants to submit designs for their ideal green kindergarten by May 10.

The winner will receive a cash prize of VND20 million (US$940), and four runners-up will receive VND5 million ($230) each.

The top ten applications will also be awarded certificates from the University of Applied Sciences Stuttgart (Hft Stuggart), one of the leading architecture schools in Germany.

This initiative is being supported by the E4G Project, an awareness-raising campaign run by Fairventures Worldwide with technical contributions from the National University of Civil Engineering, Hft Stuggart and Elithis Asia. — VNS