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.
International Chapter Award for Commercial Architecture
TDX Ice Factory by NU architecture & design demonstrates a refined, thoughtful approach to adaptive reuse, transforming a former industrial facility into a vibrant civic and cultural anchor in a dense working-class district of Ho Chi Minh City. Rather than displacing the character of its neighbourhood, the project deepens it — embracing the latent potential of the existing structure, celebrating its industrial history while enabling new forms of cultural and creative production for the local community.
Material stewardship sits at the heart of the project, and the jury found it exemplary. The decision by the client to carefully dismantle and store the original timber structure over more than a decade laid the foundation for what follows — a rare act of custodianship that kept possibility alive. It is then to the architect’s credit that this inheritance was met with equal astuteness: reintegrating the timber and repurposing burlap sacks not as nostalgic gestures, but as a coherent design principle that elevates material memory into architectural meaning. The interior environments are particularly accomplished, combining warmth, craft, and spatial generosity without tipping into nostalgia.
TDX Ice Factory proposes a compelling model of industrial reuse — one where memory, sustainability, and civic generosity are woven together with quiet conviction.
Australian Commendation for International Architecture
TDX Ice Factory by NU Architecture and Design is a refined act of adaptive reuse, turning a former industrial facility into a cultural anchor within a dense working-class district of Ho Chi Minh City. Rather than displacing the character of its neighbourhood, the project deepens it.
Material stewardship sits at its heart. The client’s decision to dismantle and store the original timber over more than a decade was a rare act of custodianship, met by the architect with equal astuteness. Reintegrated timber, repurposed burlap and considered planting produce interiors of unusual calm – a compelling model of industrial reuse.
International Chapter Award for Commercial Architecture
TDX Ice Factory by NU architecture & design demonstrates a refined, thoughtful approach to adaptive reuse, transforming a former industrial facility into a vibrant civic and cultural anchor in a dense working-class district of Ho Chi Minh City. Rather than displacing the character of its neighbourhood, the project deepens it — embracing the latent potential of the existing structure, celebrating its industrial history while enabling new forms of cultural and creative production for the local community.
Material stewardship sits at the heart of the project, and the jury found it exemplary. The decision by the client to carefully dismantle and store the original timber structure over more than a decade laid the foundation for what follows — a rare act of custodianship that kept possibility alive. It is then to the architect’s credit that this inheritance was met with equal astuteness: reintegrating the timber and repurposing burlap sacks not as nostalgic gestures, but as a coherent design principle that elevates material memory into architectural meaning. The interior environments are particularly accomplished, combining warmth, craft, and spatial generosity without tipping into nostalgia.
TDX Ice Factory proposes a compelling model of industrial reuse — one where memory, sustainability, and civic generosity are woven together with quiet conviction.
Australian Commendation for International Architecture
TDX Ice Factory by NU Architecture and Design is a refined act of adaptive reuse, turning a former industrial facility into a cultural anchor within a dense working-class district of Ho Chi Minh City. Rather than displacing the character of its neighbourhood, the project deepens it.
Material stewardship sits at its heart. The client’s decision to dismantle and store the original timber over more than a decade was a rare act of custodianship, met by the architect with equal astuteness. Reintegrated timber, repurposed burlap and considered planting produce interiors of unusual calm – a compelling model of industrial reuse.
“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