International competition For Han River Front – Da Nang City, Vietnam

Identity 

Cities grow, the geography remains.

Many cities have naturally been built on the banks of rivers.

Da Nang is also located on an estuary.

The relationship between the urban, geometrical design and the supple and sinuous geography of rivers gives cities a specific identity.

In Da Nang, the design and layout of the colonial period port should resist major changes in use and urban development, real estate development pressures, and the development of communication and transport networks.

The old commercial edges of the quays, along the banks of the Han River, are now doubled by a new contemporary and tourist shoreline, along the eastern seaboard coastline.

These banks in parallel give the city a specific identity and a multitude of perspectives. In each location, specific geography creates specific characteristics, the urban postcard.

Some cities relate to their beautiful rivers, not others…

A proposed heritage project, the Han River waterfront development should become one of the most powerful symbols for the 21st century city.

It provides new areas for urban development, restores an exceptional and emblematic landscape; a landscape and urban design that promotes an intuitive understanding of the region, creating living places for encounters. An attractive showcase of the city that reflects its energy, an alternative simple and ecological approach, a counter-proposal to the “Smart City” concept that promotes special elitist aspects of the city yet forgets its relationship to geography, the source of all identities.

The districts developing along the Han River should accommodate contemporary areas that are symbolic and emblematic of an engagement for conservation and the defense of environmental quality.