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Machado and Silvetti wins contract for Vietnamese-German University

Machado and Silvetti Associates (Jorge Silvetti’s firm) has been named general design planner for the new model campus of Vietnamese-German University in the Bình Duong province of Vietnam. MSA will be both master planner for the campus and design architect for 3.5 million square feet of laboratories, classrooms, food-courts, sports halls, administrative spaces and dormitories for 12 thousand students. The appointment is the result of an international competition held in 2013.

The project team includes a number of GSD faculty and alums. Rodolfo Machado (emeritus in urban planning and design) joins Jorge Silvetti (professor in architecture) as principals in charge. Project director is Craig Mutter (MArch ’92) and project architect and urban designer is Jeffry Burchard (design critic in architecture, MArch ’08). Patrick McCafferty (lecturer in architecture) is project director for engineering partner ARUP.

The Vietnamese-German University is the result of collaboration among the World Bank, the Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training and the German Hessen State Ministry of Science and Art to develop an internationally accredited program for research and professional advancement for Vietnamese students. It will look and work as a well-established, mature academic institution that is also contemporary, intelligent and sustainable.

The concept for the compact campus is a strong formal presence that functions like an academic town or “citadel,” with a flexible contemporary layout informed by environmentally sensible building concepts. Unifying the plan will be a continuous ground level garden that will be accessible, transparent and welcoming.

Learn more about the project.