02. Thu Thiem New Urban Area

Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Architect: Sasaki

Area: 1600 Acres

Thu Thiem is located on a 647-hectare peninsula across the Saigon River from the historic center of Ho Chi Minh City. Sasaki’s master planning work for Thu Thiem spans nine years—from 2003 when Sasaki won first prize in an international design competition to ongoing work through 2012 for the Investment and Construction Authority of Thu Thiem. Sasaki’s master plan focuses on development of Thu Thiem as a sustainable, dynamic, mixed-use central business district. The plan is based on a framework of transportation, land use, and public spaces that integrates the existing ecological conditions of the lower Saigon River and responds to the climate of southern Vietnam.

Sasaki’s plan for Thu Thiem also focuses on connections to the riverfront, linkages to the historic city center, and a compact, flexible urban form. The plan promotes density, integrated public transit (waterand land-based), and appropriate street and building orientation that encourages cross-ventilation and passive cooling. The plan incorporates the natural delta landscape and river fluctuations into the urban fabric and preserves native vegetation. A key ecological strategy is maintaining Thu Thiem as an “open system”—one that accommodates tidal regimes and high-water events through natural and man-made canals, lakes, and mangrove areas. All residential areas are in close proximity to the water and to the public spaces created through this strategy.