ISCM Resilient Landscape Design Studio: Regenerating Thu Duc’s Historic Park Towards a Nature-Based Future
Last semester, Class of 49, Bachelor Program of Architectural and Urban Design Inclusive Smart City had their very first approach to the Landscape Design area, especially smart, nature-based solutions for landscape. It is the 2025 Resilient Landscape Design Studio, guided by M.Arch. Steven Petit, M.Arch. Le Minh Ngoc (OMGEVING Vietnam), together with a jury panel who are experts and alumni of BAUD program.
Lecturers, jury panel, and students during the final presentation
How can young designers breathe new life into an outdated park and transform it into a climate-resilient public space? That was the central question for second-year bachelor students as they embarked on their very first landscape design experience.
As part of the second-year bachelor program at the Institute of Smart City and Management (ISCM) – UEH University in Ho Chi Minh City, students were challenged to reimagine the outdated Thu Duc Historical and Cultural Park, located in the northeast of Ho Chi Minh City, through the lens of resilient and regenerative landscape design. Over the course of the semester, they didn’t just explore the aesthetic dimension of landscape design, they learned to design as if shaping a dynamic ecosystem: one that adapts to the seasons and responds to urgent climate challenges.
Ms. Thanh Le (Director of Interscene VN - one of the jury gave comments on the students’ project
Nguyen Gia Thang - Class of 49 student presented his Blue Strategy:
Surface water flow circulation over time
From the left: Ms. Thanh Le, Anh Truong (Urban Designer - OMGEVING, M.Arch. Le Minh Ngoc (Lecturer - OMGEVING), Huỳnh Nguyễn Minh Quang, Nguyễn Thị Tường Vy, Nguyễn Ngân Quỳnh (Class of 49), and Mr. Dinh Thanh Thong (Alumni, Class of 47 of BAUD Program), together with their ideas
At the masterplan level, students were introduced to thinking from a broad landscape-based vision, translating it into concepts for a resilient blue-green network, a sustainable mobility network, and a vibrant system of park programs that meet the social and ecological needs of Thu Duc City. Each group developed a strategic masterplan for the full park area. Then, each student zoomed in to design a detailed project zone, applying the “Delay, Store, Discharge” principle to enhance water buffering, boost biodiversity, and increase the park’s value for the local community. This methodology combined, at the master plan level, collaboration as a design team, reflecting future professional practice, with further academic exploration in the individual project focused on ecosystem thinking and climate-adaptive landscape design solutions.
Some works illustrates the idea behind the StudioLab
These future-forward proposals demonstrate how regenerative landscape design can transform degraded urban parks into climate-adaptive, inclusive, and ecologically rich public spaces, not just in Thu Duc, but across Vietnam. We’re proud to support young designers as they embrace landscape design as a catalyst for positive change. Their creativity and systems-thinking are exactly what our cities need.
M.Arch. Steven Petit sharing concepts to students
Design lecturer: Minh Ngoc Le
Coordination lecturer: Steven Petit
External jury members: Anh Truong,Thanh Le,Thanh Thong Dinh,Trang Nguyen