Fisherman Culture Park | Palm Landscape

Fisherman Culture Park is a 4667 m2 park located within the 72-hectare marine ecological urban complex in Thang Hai commune, Ham Tan district, Binh Thuan province – on the south- central coast of Vietnam.

The initial challenge of the investor with regards to the consultant is to design a truly unique and impressive area, not only to meet the needs of residents but also to create an attractive cultural destination for tourists and investors.

With a long history of working-class culture, fishery is closely associated with daily life, culture and beliefs of people in Binh Thuan. Fishermen here have long used a very specific type of boat: “Thuyền thúng” (or basket boat, formed in a circular shape), to go out to sea.

Traces of its history date back to the French Colonial era. When The French arrived and began levying tax on the ownership of boats which most of the working-class fishermen could not afford, so they invented a new type of boat to continue sailing because their livelihood depended on it.

Recently, as a result of modernization and globalization trends, the traditional bamboo basket boat tends to be replaced by plastic boats which are cheaper and easier to make. However, still fewer artisans want to keep making boats, as selling “Thuyền thúng” is not profitable and thus they cannot find their own successors. Therefore, in order to contribute to preserving and honoring traditional values, we have decided to put “Thuyền thúng” symbol in the middle of a new modern urban area – to spread the cultural beauty to every generation.

The showpiece of the Fisherman Culture Park is the huge public art work in the middle of the lake. In addition, the Installation art area is made up of oars of discarded old basket boats which forms a special area for the sand playground. To connect with the galaxy concept of the entire project landscape, the design team is intentionally using luminous concrete materials for the Star Bridge and high reflective metal for puclic art to bring more of a futuristic style and modern design to the park – In contrast to the traditional materials such as bamboo and wood.

The Star bridge along with the platforms representing Thuyền thúng defines the vision of the project. It connects the land and the sea – modernity and tradition – FCP Park now becomes the intersection between Binh Thuan’s past and the future.

Fisherman Culture Park

Location | Thang Hai commune, Ham Tan district, Binh Thuan province, Viet Nam

Landscape Architect | Palm Landscape

Design Team | Pham Thai Anh, Nguyen Chi Thanh, Nguyen Thi Thuy, Le Duy Truong, Tran Cong Linh.

Year | 2019

About Damian Holmes 3253 Articles
Damian Holmes is the Founder and Editor of World Landscape Architecture (WLA). He is a registered landscape architect (AILA) working in international design practice in Australia. Damian founded WLA in 2007 to provide a website for landscape architects written by landscape architects. Connect on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/damianholmes/