UK architect Foster + Partners has designed a 117ha masterplan for a residential-led district in central Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) for local developer Masterise Homes.
The Global City neighbourhood will contain a mix of high and low-rise apartments and villas, as well as social housing, medical and administration facilities and a 125,000 sq m shopping mall.
A central green spine will cut through the plan and there will be an emphasis on parks, courtyards and gardens connected by pedestrian walkways. There will also be connections to highways, major roads and metro lines.
The quarter will be located in Thu Duc, a “city within a city” on the model of London’s Canary Wharf or Silicon Valley in California. It was founded in 2020 in the west of HCMC, and covers 210 square kilometres with a population of around 1 million people.
Thu Duc has been designated as part of the Southern Key Economic Zone, and will contain eight “innovation centres” to boost Vietnam’s advanced manufacturing and service sectors.
Gerard Evenden, Foster + Partners’ head of studio, said: “The design seeks to strike a balance between biodiversity and human wellbeing within an urban context, seamlessly integrating the buildings with a range of flexible, landscaped public spaces and community facilities to create a holistic, sustainable masterplan for the future
Youssef Akila, head of design at Masterise Homes, added that his company was “delighted to be partnering with one of the world’s most recognised names in architecture”. He said Masterise and Fosters shared a commitment to sustainability and style, and this example of it would be “another milestone in our journey of bringing world-class excellence to Vietnam”.
