Sasaki wins Ho Chi Minh City Innovation District competition
The
government of Ho Chi Minh City has announced the selection of Sasaki with
collaborator enCity to further explore their ideas for a burgeoning innovation
district in the eastern part of the city. From a shortlist of six international
design firms, Sasaki, a global practice with offices in Boston and Shanghai,
and enCity, an international planning practice based in Singapore and Vietnam,
were awarded first place for The Highly Interactive
Innovative Districts. The competition, launched in April 2019,
solicited planning and design ideas for over 22,000 hectares (54,000 acres) of
the city throughout District 2, District 9, and Thu Duc District.
6 Innovation Hotspots
The
planned innovation district is envisioned as a significant economic driver for
the city and region, connecting research, entrepreneurship, academia, industry,
and the local community to create a diverse innovation eco-system. “Ho Chi Minh
City has the potential to expand upon the traditional triple helix model of an innovation
district’s structure– involving academia, government, and industry– to more
directly involve communities and society at the core of its innovation
activities while ensuring long-term ecological and environmental resilience,”
explains Sasaki principal Romil Sheth. As part of the design process, the
Sasaki team identified six “innovation hotspots” for catalytic investment. Each
site leverages existing assets nearby to provide a sector-specific programming
approach.
1. The Thu Thiem FinTech Hub is designed to host a critical mass of financial services companies. The site benefits from its proximity to the urban core of Ho Chi Minh City and frontage along the Saigon River. Existing transit connections integrate the Thu Thiem FinTech Hub into a broader network and provide the opportunity for the flow of ideas and capital.
2.
The Rach Chiec Sports and Wellness Hub builds
upon previous planning efforts for the site as a sports district, focusing on
the increasing popularity of the health and wellness industry in Southeast Asia.
Rach Chiec emphasizes Ho Chi Minh City’s potential as an international
destination for innovation in sports medicine, biosciences, sports-related
products, and related industries with the goal of improving the human
condition.
3.
The Saigon Hi-Tech Park and Automated
Manufacturing Hub currently accommodates multinational high-tech companies
and educational institutions. Building on its existing manufacturing capacity, the
Saigon Hi-tech Park is envisioned to promote the future of innovative
production and design. Connections to adjacent existing and proposed research
entities further strengthen the already vigorous manufacturing sector with
inventive methods and products.
4.
The National University IT & EduTech
Hub provides a cluster of educational institutions near the Vietnam National
University that support the school’s academic mission while spurring additional
economic growth. Additional development sites for research, study, and
collaboration bridge the gap between knowledge and production and support the
teaching of new skills and methods.
5.
The Tam Da EcoTech Hub leverages the
natural site conditions of the riverfront to promote eco-tourism and
food-processing hub that can support culinary development and agro-tech industries.
The most ecologically sensitive district, the Tam Da district clusters
development in areas that can support new growth adjacent to existing transit
hubs, while allowing for the preservation and protection of environmentally
sensitive areas.
6.
The Truong Tho Future Hub leverages
the redevelopment of an obsolete riverfront port as an ideal site for a smart
city demonstration project. The working port is transformed into a new
neighborhood that serves as a model for integrating advanced technologies into
all forms of daily life. Resilient and responsive infrastructure, new forms of
mobility and communication, adaptive building technology, and a data-infused
public realm with a focus on innovation in arts and entertainment are hallmarks
of the district.
Resiliency Strategies
Southern
Vietnam is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Historically, Ho
Chi Minh City has been built upon existing higher ground. The study area for
the innovation districts, however, has seen relatively slow growth, with much
of the area’s natural of the peat swamps, dry evergreen forests, and mangroves
replaced by agriculture and sprawling urban development. The historic
environment reveals much about the ecological and risk context of the region.
Flood risk is expected to increase in the near future as today’s extreme flood
events become more regular and threaten to encompass much of the city. While new
developments are being proposed with flood mitigation strategies, it is not
feasible to implement large-scale land reclamation that could have detrimental
effects to both the ecology and shift flood risk elsewhere. Sasaki’s approach mitigates
flood risk through a variety of strategies including: 1) Capitalizing on major
industrial relocations and investments; 2) Leveraging the existing land bank of
the Vietnam National University already located on higher ground; 3) Building upon
recent transportation investments; and 4) Establishing policies that leverage
the value of urban land while preserving the absorption capacity of existing
landscapes. “The potential of Ho Chi Minh City lies on its long history of
innovation and inclusivity, its young and creative work force, and its growth-supportive
urban structure,” says Dzung Do Nguyen, Managing Director of enCity. “Our
approach aims to cultivate these unique strengths while planning for the
region’s long-term adaptability and resiliency.”
Next Steps
Once the Innovation District is codified into the revised master plan for Ho Chi Minh City, Sasaki and enCity will work closely with the city’s Department of Planning and Architecture (DPA) and other stakeholders on formulating planning and design strategies to fuel catalytic investment and development. The team will also recommend more detailed strategies related to governance, policy, and development mechanisms to shepherd the thoughtful evolution of the city.
“The future of innovation in Ho Chi Minh City must be inspiring and grounded, exceptional and inclusive, transformative and authentic,”
“This is the charge, and we’re excited to collaborate with the City on building the foundations for the region’s transformation into a 21st century innovation hub.”Michael Grove, Prncipal at Sasaki
Design Firm | Sasaki with enCity
Images Credit | Sasaki
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