Thanh Da Island

A master plan for an island residential development on the Saigon River.

Sector:                      Apartments
Country:                    Vietnam
Client:                        Private
Services:                   Master Planning
Year:                          2003

Thanh Da Island is one of the most interesting sites MAP has had to develop a master plan for. Only three kilometers from down town Ho Chi Minh City, the undeveloped island was an unusual oval ‘racket’ shape surrounded by a meander in the Saigon River. The Government planned to run a train line out to, and along the length of the island, to expand the city’s outer suburbs. Besides transport links, the site also had to include low-cost housing and a tourist park that incorporated an area for permanent exhibitions. Five international firms were invited to prepare master plans for the site.

MAP had seen previous master plans which had taken the obvious approach of proposing two circular zones on the island. MAP immediately identified the issue with these proposals – circular streets which create wedge shaped parcels of land which are difficult to sell and develop.

MAP avoided a contrived approached and took inspiration from Central Park, New York, proposing a boulevard and a canal to make the most of the site’s low-lying aspect and emphasise its proximity to water. There were two main challenges in creating the plan, the narrow ‘pinch’ in the site which made it difficult for transport links and the juxtaposition of housing and recreational elements.

The MAP solution was to locate the tourist park and recreational areas on the northern shore where it could be buffered against medium value residential accommodation while placing the low cost housing on the west of the site where it connects back with the mainland.

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