URBAN STRUCTURE AND SYSTEM: Ho Chi Minh City Urban Visualization
As part of the Bachelor of Architectural and Urban Design inclusive Smart City Program offered by the Institute of Smart City and Management (ISCM) – University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, the course Basic StudioLab 3 – Urban Visualization provides students with the opportunity to explore the depth of urban spatial thinking.
Aligned with this objective, the 2025 course is themed “Urban Structure and System: Ho Chi Minh City Urban Visualization.”
Basic Studio Lab 3 – Urban Visualization is designed to develop students’ spatial analytical capabilities and urban visual representation techniques in real-world contexts. Under the 2025 theme “Urban Structure and System: Ho Chi Minh City Urban Visualization,” students are encouraged to investigate, analyze, and illustrate the structural system of Ho Chi Minh City through models and maps that depict the interrelations of urban networks, forming a cohesive set of systematic urban visualizations.
Students conducted site visits, captured on-site imagery, and presented existing conditions at the An Phu Metro Station area (project by Pham Minh Duc, Lien Chi Buu, and Vo Hong Minh).
In the context of Ho Chi Minh City’s rapid urbanization, the course emphasizes the need for a fresh, multidimensional perspective on urban structure—one that helps students better understand how spatial, social, and environmental elements interact within a dynamic system.
The course aims to enable students to identify key systems such as infrastructure, transportation, green spaces, waterways, and functional zones, and to develop analytical and visual interpretation skills through the creation of comprehensive visualization portfolios. Collaborative research and interpretation are also central to the learning process.
Students applied visualization methods to illustrate the spatial structure and functional linkages of the An Phu Metro area (project by Pham Minh Duc, Lien Chi Buu, and Vo Hong Minh).
To achieve these learning outcomes, students are introduced to a wide range of urban visualization methods, including Urban Morphology Visualization, employing manual schematic drawing tools (Urban Grids by Busquets) and especially the Nolli Map, which provides a simplified yet powerful representation of the relationship between built-up areas (figure) and open spaces (ground). This serves as a conceptual framework for decoding urban structure and systems in Ho Chi Minh City. Additionally, the StudioLab uses Systematic Visualization method (using diagrams to interpret and separate various urban systems (landscape, movement, etc.)) and Spatial Visualization (using axonometric drawings to reconstruct and communicate the volumetric qualities of spatial systems).
Students applied the methods of Systematic Visualization and Spatial Visualization to depict the interconnected green-space system across neighborhoods (project by Huynh Hue My and Nguyen Tran Khai Han).
Site analysis using the Nolli Map tool (project by Huynh Hue My and Nguyen Tran Khai Han).
Throughout the course, digital technology plays a foundational role. Students are trained to proficiently use QGIS for preparing and analyzing geospatial data, complemented by graphic design tools such as Photoshop, while maintaining traditional representation skills through hand drawings.
The course is structured into multiple phases, integrating both theoretical and applied approaches, combining concepts from: “A Matter of Things” (De Sola Morales) – systemic and smart urban perception, “Human Settlements” (D’Auria et al.) – urban model analysis, SIM/UAL (Koolhaas) – digital visualization methods, and “The View from the Road” (Appleyard et al.) – dynamic spatial representation.
The final objective is for students to complete group projects at either a 2km × 2km or 200m × 200m scale.
Final presentation of Basic Studio Lab 3 projects.
The projects attracted significant attention when it was showcased at the 5th Anniversary Celebration of the Institute of Smart City and Management.
The final outputs are not only illustrative drawings but comprehensive interpretative portfolios, including Nolli Maps, System diagrams, Geometric drawings, and Spatial analyses. These outputs serve as a foundation for students’ graduation projects and contribute to developing a systemic mindset, strong visual thinking, and a deep understanding of urban structures through spatial interpretation—equipping them to address complex challenges in contemporary urban design.
Lecturer: MSc. Hoang Le Nam Hai, MSc. Trinh Quoc Thang, MSc. Dang The Hien, MArch. Tran Thi Quynh Mai, MSc. Thai Anh Vu, M.A. Daniela Hurtarte
Text & photos: Institute of Smart City and Management (ISCM), Students