The 68-storey skyscraper is located in the business center of the city on the banks of the Saigon River (the city of Ho Chi Minh City used to have the same name). The building has the shape of a curled lotus petal - a symbol of Vietnamese culture - with its sharp end pointing towards the sky. A pair of inclined cylinders is inserted into this truncated cone, crowned at a height of the 50th floor with a circular helipad with an extension of 25 m.
The first five floors in the tower's stylobate are occupied by shops, conference rooms and restaurants. The main level has been expanded with an esplanade and landscaped terraces. Most of the rest of the space is devoted to offices, and is crowned by a skyscraper above the 19-floor helipad with the most luxurious interiors, a panoramic bar and a restaurant. All are served by double-decker lifts in the central pillar of the tower, which take visitors all the way to the top in 45 seconds. The "population" of the skyscraper is about 10 thousand people.
The project was designed by an international team of architects. The architectural part, in addition to the French AREP, the authors of the Skolkovo master plan, was carried out by the American studio of Carlos Zapata.
Part of the glass façade panels are screen-printed, which soften glare on the rounded surface of the tower and protect the interiors from the sun. Inside, daylight is filtered by wooden blinds at the top and bottom of the windows. By combining modern materials and wood, the authors recalled the traditions of Vietnamese art, where objects are often a combination of various materials.
At the beginning of 2011, the Bitexco tower was considered the tallest in Vietnam (262.5 m), but in January its record was broken by another skyscraper - Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower in Hanoi (336 m).
N. K.
