Landscaping: TA Landscape Architecture, Vietnam (+VIDEO)

Vietnamese landscape design firm TA Landscape Architecture became famous for the design and construction of the so-called Golden Bridge, or Cau Vàng in Vietnamese. The Golden Bridge is actually a nearly 150-metre-long observation deck, which two giant hands seem to hold over the cliffs of the 1,500-metre-high town of Da Nang on the coast of central Vietnam. When it opened in 2018, numerous international media outlets, including CNN, BBC, Reuters, The Guardian, The Independent and many others, referred to it as “the world’s most spectacular bridge”, “an engineering marvel“, and even “the hands of God“. The Cau Vàng immediately became one of the main attractions at SunWorld Ba Na Hills, one of the country’s most important tourist resorts, with hotels, a theme and amusement park and a series of spectacular gardens among its facilities.

TA Landscape Architecture presents itself as a “design consultancy“, whose area of work includes the conception of gardens, “snug structures” and multifunctional spaces. As they explain, they execute their ‘design procedure‘ through a balanced combination of several principles, namely: ‘knowledge of the natural and soil conditions, the materials and charm of the region’; ‘updated experience‘ in private and public landscape architecture spaces, whether in urban contexts or in nature; ‘thorough consideration‘ of the historical characteristics of the environment and of ‘the native people, the cultures and distinctive features of many regions‘; and finally, the use of ‘eco-friendly materials and technologies’.

The truth is that, when contemplating one of TA Landscape Architecture’s latest projects, it is inevitable to see this particular “design procedure” unequivocally reflected in it. In this sense, we fully agree with the specialised publication ArchDaily when it states, in its review of the project, that Thanh Long Baywalk, as it is called, is the result of a design that integrates “publicity” – in the sense that the space attracts the eye, attracts the public’s attention and represents an iconic object such as the Cau Vàng – with ecological solutions. In this way, the landscape design firm succeeds in “creating indigenous landscape highlights“. You only have to look at the images of Thanh Long Baywalk, after its careful construction, to see how true this is. Enjoy them!