Status: Proposal on 02.2020, Winner of the competition
Program: Pedestrian bridge and landscape
Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Site area: 92,500 m2 (Aprx.)
GFA: 11,000 m2 (Aprx.)
Structure: Steel arch structure
Maximum span: 188m
Maximum height: 28.5m (from water level)
Maximum width (slab): 11.0m (including extended slab)
Maximum width (roof): 36.2m
"La Saigon (Saigon leaf)" is a pedestrian bridge which plans on Saigon river for connecting the current city center and the new developing area of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. The design was selected in a competition to find a new symbol of HCMC, one of the most developing and emerging cities in Southeast Asia.
A bridge as an iconic symbol to motivate the city to become a green, eco-friendly city
The iconic roof structure like a leaf is inspired by "Nypa palm leaf on the water" which used to be a typical scenery of HCMC. The palm leaf represents the rich life with nature as it produces essentials such as construction material, food, liquor, etc.
The bridge will deliver such recognition of the lifestyle of the "city with nature" for anyone from a local view and also all over the world by satellite view.
At night time, the bridge becomes an experiential space of lighting to enjoy a stroll. Moreover, the bridge will become a milestone to lead the urban lightscape. With sustainable environmental ideas of the bridge that learning from the organic system of nature, it will be not a functional bridge but also a learning space by visualizing how to use the resource of the city.
Revitalizing the waterscape through learning about the nature system
Even though we see the river every day, due to the silence of the river, we don't recognize the preciousness of the water resource. The big waterfall from the main spine of the bridge, using recycled rainwater collected neighbor area will remind us that we live with water through the visual entertainment and the joy of the water sound. This entertainment naturally invites people to the project and enlightens them about the ecological sustainability idea and maximizing the positive impact on the environment very unconsciously. On the bridge, people will enjoy the comfortable micro-climate thanks to the artificial mist and big roof to block Saigon's intense direct sunshine and heavy rain by ETFE film. This is exactly the same idea as the circulation system in nature.
The most efficient construction method brings an unforgettable moment to the people
This 190m arch structure keeps a 120m safety clear distance for preserving from ship crash, meanwhile expressing the leaf shape which brings more structural stability and convenient usage. For the construction method of this 3 arch-bridge, we adopt a pre-fabrication system, so almost all the elements will be assembled on the land of a shipping dock beside the site. This will minimize the negative impact in terms of existing river traffic, cost, and period of construction time. On the day this entire arch structure will be transferred from the dock to the site, a big event to celebrate the birth of the bridge will be held, involving many stakeholders, citizens, and tourists. People will enjoy the construction phase, and they start loving this bridge even before using it, and this feeling will last forever in their hearts.
[Design] Takashi Niwa Architects + Chodai & Kiso-Jiban Vietnam
Design Team: Takashi Niwa, Kyohei Takahashi, Le Van Bach, Charlotte Ly Van Luong
Akash Ganguly, Abhinav Goel, Duong Hiep Thuong, Saheel Birewar, Rhiddhit Paul, Jules Barbet (Takashi Niwa Architects)
Lighting design: Hisaki Kato (Hisaki Kato Design)
Structural Design and Infrastructure: Ho Thai Hung, Hiroshi Kudo (Chodai & Kiso-Jiban Vietnam Co., Ltd)