Architect Kent Lui at the online meeting organized by Thanh Nien Friday in Ho Chi Minh City

The success of each building depends on its unique function, says Kent Lui.

“Vietnam, or rather, Ho Chi Minh City, has a very big potential to become a modern city,” says Lui, who is now the Asia Region’s chief architect for international firm ARUP, which specializes in designing, engineering, planning and business consulting.

“With its unique culture, climate and landscape, the country is a very strong inspiration for architects,” he told Thanh Nien readers in an online meeting Friday.

While working on more than ten projects in the city from residential to mega master plans, the 46-year-old architect says he has always desired to implement the project of a landmark tower that the city plans to put in the Thu Thiem Urban Area on the Saigon River.

“My idea is to build a symbolic tower which reflects the Vietnamese cultural identity.

“Modern yet classical, it has unique functions which uplift the spirit of all Ho Chi Minh City’s residents and overseas visitors.”

The Hong Kong architect also said he has the tower’s design, which “is totally unique,” in his mind.

The creation of impressive landmarks is not his only aims in Vietnam.

“Green” factors are also very important, according to the architect, who last month won the first prize in a design contest for the Harmony Point Complex located in District 4. The contest was held by the city’s Department of Architecture and Planning.

He cites his ongoing Times Square project in District 1, where solar panels are used to heat water, as an example, adding that he also aims to design “motorcycle friendly buildings” here.

“However, at this moment the city’s planning now is yet to be modernized,” the architect says, adding that one of the big challenges facing the city is that its allocated areas are small, preventing it from developing large-scale projects.

Its traffic and road systems are other obstacles, Lui says.

Unique functions

A graduate of Japan’s Bunka Gakuen, Lui has served as a design consultant and project manager for famous Asian works like Beijing National Stadium (Bird’s Nest Stadium) in China, and Tokyo’s Century Tower.

He is also known as a designer in Hong Kong for the island’s most expensive building - the headquarters of the Hong Kong Bank; its largest building - the Hong Kong International Airport, and its tallest building - the International Finance Center.

So far, Lui has worked in London, Hong Kong, Macau, Osaka, Tokyo, Kyoto, Vietnam and 30 cities in China.

“I have no limits for location or projects; sometimes I am thinking about how to design a building on the moon.”

Despite the prolific number of projects he has done around the world, Lui says his works are never the same, each serving its own functions.

“A unique function will make the building unique,” says the architect who has worked for Foster + Partners in the UK and Rocco Design Architects Ltd. in Hong Kong. He says a building’s special function is the only indicator of its success.

“I follow neither the taste of the investor nor my personal preference; I am solely trying to create the best building for the ultimate end user.”

After three decades of working as an architect, Lui says his passion has not dimmed. It continues to nurture his desires and determination to create more unique projects.

Kent Lui’s design of Xiamen Airport in China

Reported by Thanh Nguyen