Slated for completion in 2045, Saigon South is a 3,200 hectare expansion of Ho Chi Minh City intended to be the region’s primary solution to overcrowding in the coming century. Conceived in the mid-1990s by N.Q.H, SOM, and Kenzo Tange Associates, the master plan envisions a necklace of residential neighborhoods, commercial cen-ters, a complex for technological development and production, and a university campus all con-nected by highway and light rail, along the entire southern border of Ho Chi Minh City. Its initial phase, the Phu My Hung district in the east, is the first city center in Asia to be planned and built in complete accordance with international design standards.

N.Q.H finalized the master plan and facilitated its goverment approval before designing over half of its buildings. The district is an attractive adapta-tion of Ho Chi Minh City’s vibrant downtown: its arcaded storefronts and wide boulevards redraw the city’s essential fabric, and its meandering backstreets and green corridors lead to some of Vietnam’s most coveted residence.

Image: Saigon South