Hamburg-based architect Gerkan, Marg & Partners (GMP) has won an international competition to design a headquarters for Vietnamese telecoms company Viettel Group in the coastal city of Da Nang.
The winning entry is for two high-rise offices in the Hai Chau district, between the city’s airport and historic centre, at the intersection of two main transport arteries.
The triangular buildings are placed at an offset to each other to maximise views over the Han River, and both will have V-shaped voids, or “sky windows”, cut into the façade. These extend over several stories and are recessed inwards with reveals angled at 60°. They will provide space for planting and will be used as meeting and social areas.
The design has a number of sustainable features, including a façade insulated against the heat and humidity of central Vietnam, natural ventilation and piles that act as heat-source pumps.
GMP has been active in Vietnam since 1995, and has completed a number of public buildings, including the National Congress Centre, the Hanoi Museum, and the Vietnamese National Assembly. The German House in Ho Chi Minh City, which was opened in 2018, was also its work.
Viettel Group, which began in the 1990s as a construction company, is now a multinational telco headquartered in Hanoi and operated by the Ministry of Defence.
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