VietinBank Business Centre is Foster and Partner’s first project in Vietnam and pioneers an ambitious sustainability agenda while demonstrating the emergence of Hanoi as an international financial center. The development is characterized by two landmark towers and is strategically located between central Hanoi and the airport, forming a striking new gateway to the city. As well as providing a new headquarters for VietinBank, one of Vietnam’s largest banking groups, the 300,000-square-metre mixed-use scheme includes a range of leisure facilities. The taller tower, at 68-stories, will provide an energy-efficient new headquarters for the Bank, while the second, 48-story tower will house a five-star hotel, spa, and serviced apartments.
The towers are connected by a seven-story podium building, which contains a range of shops, cafes, and restaurants and is topped by roof gardens. The upper levels of each building have been sheared diagonally to create V-shaped peaks, which face away from the adjoining podium to address views of the city and surrounding landscape. Rising from a triangular footprint, the two wings of the towers are braced by a central green spine, formed by a series of connected atria, which contribute to the building’s ventilation strategy. The scheme has a progressive environmental agenda and is designed to mitigate the effects of the area’s high levels of humidity using a low-energy, desiccant wheel. The system draws in humidity, separating the water from the atmosphere and exhaling hot, dry air, which can then be cooled by groundwater and released back into the buildings. This is the first time this technology has been applied in the region on such a large scale. A serrated facade, made up of projecting fins at 4.5-meter intervals, provides both shade and a unit of measurement for cellular offices around the perimeter of the floor plate.
Project Info
Architects: Foster and Partners
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Area: 300,000m²
Client: VietinBank
Structural Engineer: Halvorson and Partners
Quantity Surveyor: Davis Langdon and Seah
M+E Engineer: David Stillman Associates
Landscape Architect: Urbis
Lighting Engineer: Tino Kwan
Year: 2010
Type: Mixed Use, Headquarter, Offices, Retail, Hotel, Residential
