08 May 2012

The ONE Ho Chi Minh City

The 240-metre-tall development gives a nod to tradition and context while looking towards the future.

adsabA shiny new mixed-use development is currently being worked near Vietnam’s renowned roundabout, Ben Thanh Square.

Designed by Arquitectonica, The ONE Ho Chi Minh City features 2 sleek towers, which rise up from a multilevel podium. Paying heed to its context, the building’s exterior, facing the plaza, reflects the curvature of the roundabout in the main square. Notably, the podium’s façade combines glass with horizontal limestone panels, a material traditionally used in the district’s historic buildings, such as the famous Notre Dame Cathedral. The transparent sections of glass are also meant to reveal the retail spaces within while allowing visitors to view the plaza below and its surroundings.

The 2 towers are designed to symbolise the bodies of 2 dragons. The podium represents the dragons’ coiled tails, while the dramatically cantilevered sections represent the heads. Similar to the podium, the façade is made up of glass and limestone panels. Here, they are designed to mimic scales; the panels are denser in some areas and transparent in others, giving the building’s exterior an added sense of dimension.

Inside, the lower levels of the west tower contain large office spaces. Express elevators lead to the luxury hotel’s sky lobby from which patrons can ascend to guestrooms and a club with views of the city and river delta. The east tower contains apartments that face the plaza and Saigon River.

The project is expected to be completed in 2015.

Arquitectonica
arquitectonica.com

Arquitectonica

Address:	2900 Oak Avenue Miami, Florida, USA, 33133 (Arquitectonica HQ)
Phone:	+1 (305) 372 1812
Website:	arquitectonica.com
Arquitectonica is an architecture, interior design and planning firm that began in Miami in 1977 as an experimental studio. Led by Bernardo Fort-Brescia and Laurinda Spear, the studio has evolved into a worldwide practice, combining the creative spirit of the principals with the efficiency of delivery and reliability of a major architectural firm.