Making an innovative and memorable fish market
in Thu Thiem, Vietnam
Concept
Moving Through The Mangrove is the concept for this new fish market located in Thu Thiem, Vietnam’s signature urban development zone.
Mangrove is a unique type of native landscape in Vietnam. It provides habitats for a big variety of aquatic species and plays an important role in the biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems. However, intense fish farming and coastal development has led to massive mangrove degradation.
When one visits the market, he/she will see canopies with mottled patterns like tree shadow, irregularly arranged columns like mangrove stems, curvy forms, and wavy paving patterns. All these elements resemble the lovely experience when one moves through a mangrove in a canoe.
Mangrove is not only a symbol that raises people’s awareness of environment protection and habitat restoration, but also a summary of the market’s sustainable operation that has high efficiency and a closed-loop life cycle -- just like a mangrove ecosystem.
Inclusive for all kinds of local sellers
Integration of shopping and eating is key to the planning at the market. The market has two wings, each has two types of spaces for different vendors, allowing all kinds of local sellers to join. They are:
Shopping area:
- permanent fish vendors
- seasonal/temporary fish vendors
Food area:
- “cook what you bought” chefs’ kitchens
- street food makers
Continuous stand spaces allow the flexibility of vendors to have various lengths of shop, and/or have the same spot assigned to different vendors.
In addition, the idea of integration will boost sales beyond the physical market. Local residents and nearby workers can also enjoy their personal favorite fresh seafood cooked in a certain way they wanted, by ordering online and having it delivered. This will provide a considerable amount of job opportunities, adding another dimension to the market’s inclusiveness.
Create an identity for itself and the local fisherman
The market’s signature architecture attracts both local and international visitors. It has an open layout with an eye-catching form, provides a variety of spaces for the public -- from shopping, eating, to sightseeing and public gatherings.
Such integration promotes the local street food culture, showcases the richness of Vietnamese aquaculture, and enhances the vendors’ senses of community.
The smart technology brings the visitors’ experiences to the next level: one can purchase fresh ingredients from multiple sellers and have them cooked in the chosen food stall, thanks to the smart conveyor belt overhead. One can also order online and enjoy the choose-your-own style meals elsewhere.
The market is well planned to keep everything clean and efficient, so the sellers can focus on interacting with the buyers.
The design also cares about the sellers’ wellbeing by providing amenity like a dedicated kitchenette and rest areas, etc.
Social public engagement
Design to attract people:
- The market is porous and open along all edges.
- A mixture of vendors attracts all types of customers;
- The bridge draws pedestrians and bikers from the waterfront into the market.
Activities beyond trading
- Integrated shopping and eating experience.
- Enjoy cooked food in many ways: by the stall, in the center, or on Level 2 viewing platform.
- Level 2’s open platform can host exhibitions, ceremonies, banquets, etc.
- Grand stairs facing the park/plaza can become a theater for performances and movies
Functional and efficient
The rationality of the market planning can be seen as follows:
Basement is dedicated to supply and service.
On Level 1, service areas take up the south part of each wing:
- Lifts carry big bulk of goods from main dock to shopping wing on L1
- A ramp escalator allows frequent goods-moving for the food wing.
Each shop/food area has an inner zone and an outer zone:
- Active shop fronts on the outside.
- For the shop areas, a shared work zone locates in the center, screened by the storage tanks
- For the food areas, shared kitchen tops occupy the center area.
Overhead conveyor belts bring fresh ingredients to the kitchen area.
Dedicated area for soiled materials and waste management on both L1 and B1.
- Dirty plates/equipment get cleaned in the central cleaning area on B1 and get returned to the market right away.
- Food scraps and waste get sorted on L1 waste management area, move to B1 through trash shoots, become fish food or get composed offsite.
Agile for an incremental form of design
The existing Level 2, where it is now dedicated for the public, can be easily transformed into shop spaces partially or fully.
The vertical transportation infrastructure such as lifts, ramps, stairs are already there. There is ample service space in the basement for an increased logistics demand. On the market levels, planning diagrams could remain the same where the service area is located in the south, feeding the shopping area. In addition, the architectural design elements will keep the visitor experience consistent.
Match with the upcoming modern infrastructure of Thu Thiem, Ho Chi Minh City
The design of the new market is very sensitive to the visions for Thu Thiem, and responds to the planning of open spaces, transportations and digital future:
1. The main entrance, grand stairs, as well as the heart of the market, open to the Thu Thiem’s main green corridor. This important open space runs along the axis from the historical center of Ho Chi Minh City, to new Thu Thiem Central Lake.
2. Design invites people using various modes of transportation:
- South entrance receive people from subway, airport express and circular bus stop
- Bridge splits in two directions to receive people arriving from two ferry terminals, as well as bikers and joggers along the waterfront
- Northeast entrance welcomes people from Crescent Boulevard.
- Main entrance opens to the green corridor, drawing people from the historical city and East part of Thu Thiem to the site.
3. Smart market in situ and on cloud: Conveyor belts and digital ordering systems make the market innovative and unique.
