Prelude

“On a rise in his drive to the beach, at the end of the road, did he catch a view of the architectural marvels stretching back, away, toward the peninsula. Layered upon each other, they hugged gently to the wide and busy boardwalk next to lazy sand dunes, soft grass and sand rolling into a ribbon. The different neon signs hanging proudly on all shops, peppered with small graffiti artworks and signboards, dissolved into groups of young tourists, treading through the sand toward the park. A cosy outdoor lounge at the first intersection, with bright signs in the window, bustling with music and laughters. Groups of teenagers on electric bikes darted on the boardwalk, weaving between the lazy coconut trees. He had try to follow them with his eyes but they couldn’t for his destination has come to view.”

Driving towards the north west

 

This world is but a canvas to our imagination

Henry David Thoreau

Chapter 1: Trung Thuy

Trung Thuy is a family-owned multi-business corporation with a legacy spanning 35 years. With its origins in the business of craftsmanship and inspired by a culture of creativity, Trung Thuy has grown over the decades into a respected and innovative diversified corporation.

 

Today, Trung Thuy manages a business portfolio that includes real estate development, investments, hospitality, tourism and retail services, and is the creator of some of Vietnam’s most trusted brands: Lancaster, the award- winning branded residences and service apartments, Dreamplex, a pioneering co-working solution, Sen Spa, an ultimate spa experience, Miss Ao Dai, a household name for traditional Vietnamese craftsmanship and design and Mekong Rest Stops, popular rest stop destinations.

In Real estate development, our quest is to uplift the living standards through the creation of highly crafted real estate products and service experiences. In order to deliver that, we need to craft product and experiences that people truly desire.

Chapter 2: The chance encounter

Trung Thuy was introduced to project site in 2010. Preliminary site surveys highlighted the unique landscape of the area, with historic backgrounds tying the site to Danang.

The site is characterized by stretching beachfronts, expansive skies an horizon with a natural gulf and pier. The beach is determined to be calm and gently sloped, ideal for swimming and beach activities.

Trung Thuy acquired and purchased the rights of the land in 2011 and we have been working closely with the Danang government ever since.

Our vision is to build an integrated lifestyle neighbourhood, comprising of a resort hotel, branded residence villas, high-rise apartment and entertainment shopfronts on this site. The resort hotel and entertainment complex will function as attractions for locals and tourists alike while the villas will be sold for interested owners looking for a holiday villa or a home next to the beach. The resort hotel will also run the operation and leasing management of these villas on behalf of their owners if they require.

 

Contemporary with a mix of local flavour are ideal for the generation of design for this particular project. Trung Thuy feels the need to highlight the historic background of the site, incorporating greeneries into all aspects of design and maintain an overall indulgent and relaxed feel to the resort & villas.

Working with the local government, relocating the existing houses along with other planning challenges, it has been a challenging 10 years, and now in 2021, we are almost at the starting line.

Now, we are ready to craft the most unique coastal living and entertainment destination there is in Da Nang.

 

Chapter 3: Nam O’s Lore

Nam O was proudly recorded in the very first scenes of the world’s cinema history. Nowadays, if you search on Google the phrase “Le Village de Namo”, visitors will still find a 1-minute clip made by brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière in Nam O Village. Despite its 1-minute length, the video was still shown in cinemas and sold its ticket in Lyon (France) in 1900 under the title

As a land where a diversity of ethnic peculiarities and cultural beauty converge, Nam O is an ideal place to develop the popular model of “Community Tourism”.

Visitors will be attracted to Nam O’s specialties such as Fish salad, Seaweed which is caught by the local fishermen or discover the traditional fish sauce village of Nam O, which has been honored as the National Intangible Cultural Heritage. Additionally, you can also embark on a cruise to admire the ocean’s sincerest beauty on rustic basket boats.

 

Not only emerges as a charming picture of the poetic scenery but Nam O is also a land of legend stories that narrate a unique life of spiritual and cultural traits.

Nestled under Hai Van Pass, this was once the southern gateway of Dai Viet, when Che Man – the Champa King, offered Chau O and Chau Ly for Tran Dynasty after his marriage with Princess Huyen Tran in 1306.

For a very long time, this place has been associated with anecdotes of Princess Huyen Tran during the period when the Tran Dynasty expanded its territory to the South. If one searches closely enough, ventures far into the Penisula far enough, one will be rewarded with such sights.

Besides, the place reserves cultural imprints of the oldest fishing village in Da Nang, such as the Whale Tempe, Spirit Temple, Princess Lieu Hanh Temple, and Tien Hien tomb. As the intersection of many cultures, until now, this village still reserves a lot of monuments such as Champa square well, the tale of Cu De town’s defense against the French in 1859, or time-worn marks of bulletproof bunkers on the coast.

Chapter 4: Crafting for his and her

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Chapter 5: Building the masterpiece, piece by piece

Chapter 6: Finding inspiration

It is hard to fathom the difficulties of urban planning until one cares enough and gets deep into it. For me, it has been an ever going journey of discovery, of the minute implications and trade offs of sensible design and commercial benefits. The hardest part yet is not the designs itself, but what long term impacts will our designs leave behind, for years and years to come.

For us, the beautiful beach is and should be accessible for all while transforming & transitioning to a more sustainable way of utilization . Activities upon it is just as important and the best and only way is through community led activities. Groups & communities of expats and locals living in Da Nang are the only ones that will be able to make this location into an unmissable destination for all tourists alike.

Sustainability is impossible without a responsible community. Culture is defined by its neighbourhood

Peninsula revitalization – enhancing nature’s beauty. Nature is beautiful in its barren and untouched ways, yet we can do so much more if given the opportunity.

Landscape drives the narrative. Beautiful Park and Public spaces will bring people together. We pledged to design & construct a beautiful destination park that will be the place for many gatherings, events, festivals and more. A place where young couples can be seen sharing selfies and older ones holding hands watching the sunset.

Creating a Surfing & Beach sport community is also our priorty. As sports and wellness become more prevalent in our lives, an active lifestyle will be the point of attraction for people coming to live here aibeit short or long term.

Learning from industry thought leaders like Sidewalk Labs, a company founded by Google, to innovate the cities of the future. We will seek to apply technology together with sound urban design philosophy to encourage a more livable, pedestrian friendly and commerce friendly neighbourhood.

Imagine the scenario where a street can serve multitude of uses, depending on time of the day. From morning drop off zone, afternoon parking to evening al fresco dining.

 

We plan to work with technology startups to implement solutions that can manage the valuable real estates that are sidewalks and street surfaces in a fair and transparent manner, as a way to contribute the economic viability of the neighbourhood. Ideas of implementing distributed ledge technology to achieve this goal is being sketched out and prototyped as we speak.

 

Adaptive Traffic Lights is another idea we could implement, using sensors or just simply operate on timers, our traffic lights together with speed indicators will control the flow of motor vehicles’ speed. This in effect allows during certain part of the day, to limit the maximum speed to 5km/hr, at the same speed of pedestrians. This will allow pedestrians to feel safe and comfortable to traverse up and down the shopping streets, for diners to situated right next to the traffic flow.

Taking inspiration from the world’s best coastal cities, to bring the best of the world to Da Nang

Miami-inspired living

Art Deco architecture is what makes Miami stand out. Along with its beautiful beaches, great diverse F&B offerings, Latin-inspired culture art and music can be experienced everywhere. One simply cannot run out of choices of places to hang out or party in. Miami is also a hot bed of events, with full calendars of activities in the city all year round. And last but not least, with its beautiful beaches and great weather, Miami is the place to be and be seen.

More to come…

Nam O has so much potential and our work is just barely starting. I’m so excited to be sharing this journey with all of you starting today.

This is a massive undertaking for our company, and so much works in progress, please follow for future updates. We would love to hear your thoughts and insights on how to develop an amazing neighbourhood to Da Nang.

We are constantly looking for:

• Community Marketing Managers
• Local Artists
• Designers of all kinds
• F&B, Retail Business Owners
• Local community groups for expats living in Danang
• Technologists, programmers, IoT makers
• Anyone who cares about the future of Da Nang

If you want to collaborate with us, please reach me at tin.nguyen@ttgvn.com.