Projects | Landmark 81, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

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The 472-metre-high Landmark 81 dominates Ho Chi Minh City’s skyline and is the tallest skyscraper in Southeast Asia and the sixth tallest in Asia. Taking the lead in bringing this tower of bold vision and innovative design to life reinforces Aurecon’s position as one of the world’s leading engineering consultants for supertall buildings.

The boldly designed Landmark 81 superstructure rises from the centre of the multipurpose Vinhomes Central Park urban development, melding business with lifestyle through structures of unprecedented scale in Vietnam. Aurecon partnered the Vincom Group, a Vietnamese company to build the structure, comprising residential, retail and leisure spaces.

The project is a collaboration between developer Vincom Group; architects Atkins; interior designers Wilson Associates; structural engineers Arup; contractor Mace; and Aurecon, who managed all engineering work related to the building services, as well as the lighting and the facade of Landmark 81.

Aurecon’s Technical Director for Vietnam Tuyen Bui said that the Vincom Group, as Vietnam’s largest developer, is a valued client whose strategy aligns with our own, in that we both want to grow rapidly in this region and extend the quality services we offer our customers. The Landmark 81 project has brought together teams from three engineering disciplines; a great reflection of the company’s broad array of expertise.

Topped out in March 2018, the 241,000 m2 Landmark 81 superstructure includes a five-star hotel, serviced apartments, residential apartments and retail space. The 50,000-square-meter retail centre was opened on 26 July 2018.

Location

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Client

Tan Lien Phat Investment, Construction JSC

Partners

Atkins

Aurecon's Role

MEP, facade, and specialist lighting engineering design

Expertise

Building Design

Complete

2018

Bringing to life an extraordinary vision

Among the notable challenges in designing Landmark 81 was a tight timeline where Aurecon’s engineers completed the detailed designs for the building services within three months.

Demonstrating its agility, the company developed designs in the Revit platform, which not only optimised efficient construction programmes for the project but enabled 4D BIM-based mapping that tracks progression over the building’s lifetime.

Aurecon applied innovative, smart solutions throughout services design. For example, to give the building a smoother appearance, in a first for Vietnam, a central air conditioning system supplies all residential apartments – avoiding unsightly individual units.

MEP and fire engineering

The HVAC system is designed to meet Green Building standards, and accordingly waste heat from the air conditioning plant is recovered and used elsewhere, such as providing hot water. To accommodate this system, Aurecon created a 36,000 m² system across three basements, which includes concrete plenums and jet fans along the dividing walls to eliminate the need for ceiling ductwork and increase the available headroom. The building is expected to gain LEED certification.

The firefighting system is designed to enable the podium and three basement levels to utilise water tanks from neighbouring buildings. Gravity-activated, the system cuts costs on the pumping system and offers a safer design.

Facade

Features, such as the entrance facade, presented challenges that Aurecon had overcome through teamwork and intelligent design. This 26-metre-high glass-and-stone system facade had few framing members.

However, through the synergy between Aurecon’s engineering and lighting teams, a solution was found.

Lighting

Strong emphasis was placed on the energy efficiency of the lighting requirements: luminaires use LEDs and daylight sensors to ensure that lighting is only activated during evening hours to maximise energy savings.

According to Aurecon’s Principal Lighting Designer, Angela Woo Scott, the team considered the functional and aesthetic advantages of each lighting option. Lighting such an impressive building is about achieving the right balance and ensuring a functional yet striking end result. The team worked with the developer and architect to highlight the elegance and luxury of the development.