Hanoi: The Latest Architecture and News

As the tide of urban migration sweeps across the developing world, cities experience an overpowering pressure to provide basic services such as electricity and sewage treatment to an enormous amount of people building illegal shacks on city outskirts. When they fail, the slum is born - but is it possible for a city to expand without slums? In Hanoi, Vietnam, officials hope to answer this question, with a number of tactics that have led to a "culture of semi-legal construction." Read this article in The Guardian to learn how Hanoi manages to curb slums and provide a basic standard of living to its poorest inhabitants.

CPG Consultants recently won the Hanoi Noi Bai International Airport VIP terminal design competition, which was organized by the Airports Corporation of Vietnam. Expected to be completed in late 2014, the lotus flower-inspired design with its iconic petal-shaped pavilion roof will extend a ceremonious welcome to Heads of State and dignitaries as they arrive or depart from Hanoi. The new VIP Terminal will feature an octagonal geometry in plan, with the reception hall, state lounge and president lounges forming the centerpiece while the VIP lounges and function rooms form the angled part of the perimeter. More images and architects' description after the break.