Bitexco Financial Tower

Rising in front of you is the Bitexco Financial Tower, the skyscraper that changed Saigon's skyline. When it opened on 31 October 2010 it was, for a few months, the tallest building in Vietnam.

1A glass lotus

It was designed by the architect Carlos Zapata, who took his inspiration from the bud of the lotus, Vietnam's national flower. It is 262.5 metres high and has 68 floors. Construction began in 2007 and ended in 2010. Its most famous feature is the helipad, a disc that juts out from the façade at the level of the 52nd floor and seems to defy gravity. In 2013 CNN included it among the great icons of skyscraper construction.

2A city growing upwards

In January 2011 it was overtaken by the Keangnam tower in Hanoi, and in 2018 Landmark 81, on the other side of the Saigon River, became the tallest in the country. Even so, the Bitexco remains the most recognisable silhouette in the centre. From its observation deck you can see the bend of the river, the new districts of Thủ Thiêm and, below, the street grid of the colonial city. At night, on special occasions, its roof and helipad have been used for fireworks and light shows.

At its feet, the colonial buildings of the neighbourhood recall what Saigon looked like before the glass.

3What to look for

• The cantilevered helipad.
• The glass façade, whose bands imitate petals.
• The contrast with the colonial buildings around it.