Recently, Fulbright University Vietnam kicked off the construction of its Flagship District 9 Campus.
Over the next 3 to 4 months, the 15-hectare site will be excavated, levelled, and compacted in preparation for the construction that will follow. This work will set the stage for foundations and basements, superstructure, enclosure, and finally fit-out. Construction will last three years, until the final inauguration of a new, cutting-edge center for education and research.
With extensive experience on projects in Saigon High Tech Park, C&T Construction has been selected to carry out earthworks. Turner Construction, a leading global construction project management firm, will lead the construction management throughout the project.
“By kicking off excavation activities on site, we are now laying the groundwork – very much literally – for the future of higher education in Ho-Chi-Minh City. We have a long road ahead, but this moment holds special meaning, as we have begun turning a vision into a physical reality. We are grateful for the incredible support of all parties, particularly the leadership of Saigon High Tech Park and the local authorities,” said Jesse Boone, Director of Facilities and Campus Development at Fulbright.
Designed by SHoP Architects, the academic and student life buildings and central lawn will form the nucleus of the campus and our main facilities, from which Fulbright will expand in subsequent phases of construction.
The main gateway building located at the head of the lawn will house a distinctive amphitheater at its core, as well as the student center and library. A network of pedestrian streets will extend out from the lawn and main building and offer a landscape of vegetation and water features. All paths will reach focal-point buildings designed to host quintessential college facilities such as galleries, theaters, or a gymnasium. The convergence of two major passageways will form iconic “flatiron” dormitories with a ground floor student dining hall.
“What excites me about the Fulbright project is to think that we are trying to design a campus and a school that will help the lives of thousands of young people, many of whom are not even born yet,” reflects SHoP Architects co-founder Gregg Pasquarelli.
Embedded Sustainability
Water features will play an important role in the landscaping of the Fulbright campus. Rain is a key aspect of life in Ho Chi Minh City and water management is critical to the resiliency of the campus and the project’s goals of environmental stewardship. The Fulbright buildings will celebrate this key feature of the local environment, integrating drainage and water reclamation into visible design elements throughout the campus and the landscape.
The campus is designed as a primary teaching tool in and of itself—a leading example of sustainable planning and engineering practices that acts as a model for responsible growth both locally and internationally. Thus, the project will seek out the US-based LEED accreditation, a benchmark of sustainable design, construction and operations standards, as well as its Vietnamese counterpart, LOTUS.
“We at Fulbright are excited to see the efforts of planning, fundraising and negotiation merge into this realization. The university has always made a priority of providing competencies-based, experiential learning opportunities for our students. This flagship campus affords us opportunities for growth through innovative, newer technologies, and through flexible learning spaces,” explains Dam Bich Thuy, President of Fulbright University Vietnam.
