Büro Ole Scheeren recently launched its designs for Empire City in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It will be a continuation of the studio’s work in Southeast Asia, following residential projects like Angkasa Raya in Kuala Lumpur, the Interlace in Singapore, and MahaNakhon in Bangkok.The studio believes that Ho Chi Minh has become an incredible energy center for activity and investment. Empire City, located on a peninsula just across the Saigon river, will become a pivotal focus of the city. The building, with its three mixed-use towers, will include a public waterfront and nature reserve. “The layering of different aspects within the project was to merge a residential community with a more urban and public community, so it becomes far more dimensional, bringing a broad spectrum of potential experiences and choices to the city,” said Scheeren.Empire Tower 88 is the tallest of the three towers at 333 meters high across 88 floors. It will house a hotel, short stay apartments, as well as multiple public spaces. The studio wishes to bring back the lyrical beauty of skyscrapers. The design of the podium space at the ground level reminds one of the cultivated rice fields of Vietnam, where the layering of ramps and stairways connect back to the streets. Empire City has been designed as a response to Vietnam’s next generation, reflecting both current and future living habits.The Sky Forest will be a publically accessible restaurant in Empire Tower 88 that has been embedded in a water garden, inspired by the Ha Long Bay and Trang An Grotto waterfalls. Scheeren said, “We wanted to capture the spirit of the tropical city, where life indoors and outdoors plays an equally important role.” The studio hopes that Empire City will provide Ho Chi Minh with a new tool to reclaim public space, taking it from the commercial back to the residential, noted Wallpaper.   Read more