Ho Chi Minh City is growing! Being one of Vietnam's most prominent urban agglome-rations, the City is developing into a 21st century metropolis. Thu Thiem will be the new district on the left bank of the Saigon River.

To join the 'new' Thu Thiem with the 'old' Ho Chi Minh is one of the most important tasks for the future of the city and the new 'Central Plaza' will be its most important agent. In our vision we are hence proposing to extend the square from one riverbank to the other and to merge it with the proposed Pedestrian Bridge. Thus an urban entity is created which will weave the 'old' with the 'new' together and will become a joint focus for the two sides of the city.

In order to create the continuity which the concept requires, bridge and Plaza will be linked not only by their plan and materiality but also by a continuous roof - both natural and artificial: On the Plaza a hall of tall trees will form a closed canopy that will find its architectural counter piece in the “River Hall” underneath the 'Sky Deck' of the Pedestrian Bridge. What is a large grove of trees in the square will turn into a spacious mulit-columned hall as the square passes from land across the water. The lines of trees and columns form a continuous pattern which expands and contracts as it opens up around the 'Crescent Park' and focuses on either extremities.

On the bridge the visitors have the unique opportunity to ascend to the 'Sky Deck' of the bridge. From here they may enjoy the great panorama of the new and the historic town, the mighty river and even the Central Lake. Visitors find themselves between old and new, water and land, earth and sky. This unique location will offer the people of Ho Chi Minh City generous space for all sorts of urban activities. It will become the unequalled event space of the 21st century!

At the interface between square and bridge, a comfortable ramp leads down to the 'Crescent Park'. While the Central Plaza provides and urbane setting for modern city life styles, the Crescent Park provides an opposing atmosphere with its dense and richly green space. The lush vegetation and an abundance of green are reminiscent of the mangrove forests that can still be found at the river shore up to the North. A promenade all along the river bank invites for a stroll to watch the boats, maybe even to dip one's feet into the water or simply to enjoy the refreshing coolness of the river.