This project is located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, specifically at 19/45 Trần Đình Xu, Cầu Kho Ward, District 1. In the Vietnamese context, there is no equivalent designation of “Traditional Owners/Custodians” as defined under Australian Native Title systems. The site is situated on land historically belonging to the broader Vietnamese community and administered under the jurisdiction of the local municipal government (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City).
International
NU architecture & design has redeveloped TDX Ice Factory, an adaptive reuse project, into a mixed-use compound in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
NU architecture & design revitalised a former 4,200 square metre ice factory to create TDX Ice Factory – a mixed-use compound for the local furniture brand, District Eight, that embodies adaptive reuse and Vietnamese craftsmanship.
Timber salvaged from District Eight's original factory was repurposed into walls, ceiling and lighting fixtures, embedding the brand's legacy within the architecture.
Natural stone, bamboo, and burlap form tactile surfaces that evoke local architecture elements and support a low-tech, climate-responsive approach.
Visitors enter through a narrow alley, experiencing a spatial and atmospheric transition into a sunlit compound – a contemporary model of continuity and regenerative design.
"District Eight’s history has always been tied to the repurposing of historic buildings, and when our original factory—an early colonial rice warehouse—was dismantled more than 10 years ago, we carefully salvaged its timbers to carry both the heritage of the place and the identity of the company forward. In restoring this former French-era ice factory, it was important that these materials be given new architectural meaning, allowing the building’s past and District Eight’s own history to be expressed through a contemporary architectural expression. NU did that by designing a space grounded in reuse, memory, and continuity." – Darren Chew