NATIONAL UNIVERSITY MASTERPLAN

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

The first master plan of its kind in Vietnam, NQH’s design for Ho Chi Minh City National University integrates thirteen schools, twenty-one institutes, a dormitory, and an international sports center into a single site.

The circulation system and land-use program facilitate intellectual collaboration among the different schools, and the campus’s layout and infrastructure promote sustainability. Seamlessly woven into the surrounding natural landscape, the campus reserves 40% of its land for green space.

The Ho Chi Minh City National University plan is the largest project in NQH’s education portfolio; other projects include the plans and buildings of several international schools in Vietnam.

MARINA BAY

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

For Marina Bay, the client was interested in creating luxury residences that incorporate a marina and yacht club. Surrounded on three sides by the Thu Duc River and centrally located in Ho Chi Minh City, the complex takes what are normally leisure activities and brings them into the sphere of everyday life. In addition to water sports, the master plan includes tennis courts, fitness centers, football fields, playgorunds and extensive paths for running and walking, promoting an active lifestyle and enhancing the health of residents.

NQH’s state of the art design utilizes energy saving technologies and green building materials, and offers unparalleled accessibility and comfort. The buildings are carefully situated at angles that lend themselves to panoramic views, and sky bridges give the community a new level of inter-connectedness.

BA RIA VUNG TAU POLITICAL ADMINISTRATION CENTER

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Since it was officially recognized as a province in 1991, Ba Ria-Vung Tau has become a leading economic center in southern Vietnam, its petroleum-rich geology and popularity with tourists spurring unprecedented growth. For over a decade, aging French-colonial buildings strained to accommodate concurrent government reform and expansion. The Ba Ria-Vung Tau Administration and Political Center is a state-of-the-art complex that combines all major government offices on one site, setting an example for the rest of Vietnam as the country continues to modernize.

The design takes full advantage of the local climate to maximize the site’s sustainability. An elliptical conference center allows a southwesterly wind to pass through the complex, cooling the entire block as it travels across a reflecting pool. Carefully positioned louvers shield the building from sunlight, and stairwells generate natural circulation via cylinders of air drawn from the courtyard. Thorough analysis of light and wind patterns have resulted in minimal energy consumption.

The monumental conference hall, situated at a major intersection on the southwest corner of the site, welcomes visitors with a sweeping, symmetrical plaza. The plaza then merges with an interior courtyard that reimagines traditional Vietnamese house design on a grand scale. Tranquil and cool, the courtyard encourages both quiet contemplation and chance interaction.

GRANDVIEW LUXURY APARTMENTS

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

With a modern design that brings privacy and scenery to each unit, the Grand View apartment building continues NQH’s tradition of innovation in residential design. Corridors of residences frame an open courtyard, allowing at least two walls of windows in every apartment and ensuring significant energy savings as well as panoramic river views. The building’s towering atria and exposed structural components make it an especially sculptural contribution to Phu My Hung’s built environment.

Lancaster Legacy

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Lofty and light, billowing as if shaped by the wind and water that flow past it, the Lancaster Legacy building is a welcome departure from the typical southeast-Asian apartment complex. Its massing and landscape design are crafted to fit its immediate environment: elliptical shapes minimize east/west sun exposure, and breezes pass smoothly over the building’s curves and water features, making the building function as a natural, gentle cooling system. Parks and gardens, both surrounding the towers and embedded in them, provide these benefits through design refined by principles of Feng Shui. The result is a network of green spaces throughout that is as economical as it is beautiful.

CORAL BEACH RESORT

Nha Trang, Vietnam

Situated a short distance from Nha Trang, one of Vietnam’s most dynamic coastal towns, Coral Beach Resort encapsulates the timeless natural beauty of Vietnam in pristine harmony with 21st-century comforts. Coral Beach’s villas and hotels lie delicately by a coral reef, integrating the natural environment with the privacy, serenity, and comfort of its visitors and residents.

In design and execution, each of its fifty villas evokes the experience of a private residence on the Mediterranean, containing Italian-style pools and arches and incorporating stone hewn only from local mountains.  Elemental to the design and maintenance of Coral Beach is a commitment to a vital balance with the natural environment; like all of NQH’s designs, Coral Beach is built according to international green standards.

VINAMILK TOWER

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

In designing the Vinamilk headquarters, NQH’s team sought to match the ecological integrity of the building with the stature of the company it houses. Through site-specific study, high-quality materials, and cutting-edge design techniques, the building minimizes energy consumption and cost. Its façade, half double-glazed glass and half covered, is calibrated to reflect and absorb sunlight as needed, and its massing harnesses cooling winds. Inside, its floor plans accommodate the specific needs of Vinamilk’s team, facilitating maximum output for the business and further streamlining the economic efficiency of the building. Visually, the building is a striking addition to Phu My Hung’s mingled architectural styles, complementing NQH’s Petroland Tower to the west.

OCEANAMI RESORT

Vung Tau, Vietnam

Whereas Coral Beach Resort’s aim is to open nature to the guest, the Oceanami Resort uses natural views, forms, and materials to create a kind of large-scale artwork. Drawing from a range of sources but thematically centered on Japanese visual culture, Oceanami’s program, architecture, and detail all engage the user in an immersive experience of light, color, and texture.

The center of the resort is a zen garden, featuring cherry trees and water features balanced by principles of Japanese landscape tradition. Luxury villas, in minimalist design inspired by origami, establish profound calm and privacy. A five-star hotel along the beach provides sports facilities, a boat dock, a spa and salon, a gym, two restaurants, and a bar. Shared beachfront space, with infinity pools and sweeping views, showcases an artful interplay between contemporary design and the natural geometry of the ocean.

HOAN KIEM LAKE URBAN DESIGN COMPETITION

Hanoi, Vietnam

The challenge of redesigning one of the most iconic landmarks in Vietnam was one that NQH approached with an eye to the country’s rich cultural heritage. The design seeks to create an accessible oasis in the center of one of the world’s most rapidly growing cities.  A highlight of the new masterplan is the repurposing of old buildings to enhance the experience of visiting the lake—the post office, electrical center and other civic centers are converted to cultural centers and commercial areas to better accommodate visitors. Featuring an open layout, the design accentuates the scale of the lake and provides numerous areas to relax, stroll and view the Temple of the Jade Mountain and other national treasures.

SAIGON RIVERFRONT RENOVATION MASTERPLAN

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

At the intersection of three major Ho Chi Minh city arteries, the waterfront also represents the meeting of all aspects of city life. In 2000, NQH undertook the task of redesigning the city’s iconic waterfront in order to free up pedestrian areas and alleviate the formidable traffic congestion problems. The cutting-edge design doubles the amount of parks and open space, while maximizing access to commercial and government areas.

PETROLAND TOWER

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Completed in December 2011, the Petroland Tower is the tallest building in Saigon South. Housing a variety of uses in a sleek, contemporary design, the tower is a major step toward the establishment of Phu My Hung as a leading commercial center of Vietnam.

The first three floors of the tower are reserved for a grand lobby and a set of shops. The middle 20 floors provide first-class office space complete with floor-to-ceiling windows that present downtown Ho Chi Minh City to the north and a web of canals to the south. Crowning the tower is seven floors of luxury penthouse apartments.

The building uses a double-glazed curtain wall around the entire exterior, minimizing energy output by insulating cool air. Opening as it ascends, the building’s façade is an artistic take on 21st-century high rise design.

COCOON CONCEPT

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Cocoon, v. to envelop or surround protectively; insulate.

The striking design for the Cocoon mixed-use building is just one example of how NQH combines avant-garde design with attention to function and practical use. Enveloping the building are hundreds of white synthetic belts that create a “cocoon,” both in appearance and shared function: the belts protect the interior from sun and wind, saving over 20% on energy costs. Furthermore, they reduce noise, protect the privacy of occupants and offer interesting and ever changing interplays of light and shadows. At night, led fixtures create a dazzing light show that attracts locals and visitors alike. The cocoon is a fresh, unquie design that is unlike anything else in the region.