Nguyen Hue Flower Street

Nguyen Hue Flower Street is the biggest annual event welcoming the Vietnamese New Year, Tet. Attracting over a million people, it is a new experience each year from the big picture to the details.

The team was challenged to transform a boring pedestrian street into a fantastical and bustling street of flowers using art, technology and nature to connect people to place.

Because the celebration is for Tet, the team needed to create something traditional but also completely new. They also needed to consider issues such as cultural appropriateness, the availability of local materials and labor, fabrication techniques, height limitations and wind and weather conditions. Additionally, they could not interfere with the structure of the existing pavement and needed to be easy to remove because of the temporary (one week) nature of the event.

The team needed to use creative, cost-effective materials to create the massive installations: All of the installations consist of mostly eco-friendly bamboo, rattan, coir and mud, composite, poly foam, acrylic and steel. Most are handmade or hand painted.

The short construction timeline required AGS to work quickly, with one month for concept design development, two months for governmental approval, two weeks for technical drawing, two weeks for fabrication and 15 days for installation. While working on the design, AGS had to define their own strategy, concept and execution solutions.

The Ho Chi Minh City People Committee received a report of huge increases in business for surrounding hotels and restaurants, and the event was featured in regional, national and international media. Participants posted photos and comments on social media sites Facebook and Instagram.

Design Team

Tran Minh Hieu (head of architecture), Phi Ngoc Linh (creative director), Dao Huu Thang (fabricator director), Huong Lan Nguyen (project manager), Phuong Anh Hoang (project executive), Anh Ngoc Le (financial manager), Chau Nguyen (augmented reality application manager)

Design Firm

Vietnam August Star Joint Stock Company (AGS)

Project Area

490,834 sq ft

Fabricators

Vietnam August Star Joint Stock Company, Van Tong, Binh Quoi, Hoa Thanh Nam