Gallery Entry
Smart Heritage Landscape: Ton Duc Thang Village on Ong Ho Island
By Huy DD Pham · VN
Ton Duc Thang Heritage Village on Ong Ho Island (Tiger Island) is a landscape architecture proposal for designing the living rural landscape in which the values such as heritage conservation, ecological restoration, local livelihoods, tourism, and agricultural technology can coexist. Situated in the Mekong Delta, the project site possesses traditional houses, fruit gardens, rice fields, waterways, memories, and the memorial landscape related to Ton Duc Thang. However, all these values suffer from fragmentation in development, shifting farming practices, vulnerability to the environment, and gradual loss of local identity. What should be the way to create a design which would emphasize the existing values of the island rather than impose its own new character? Heritage should not be treated separately but rather viewed in the context of the whole cultural and ecological complex of the island. In accordance with the philosophy of Five Elements (Earth, Fire, Water, Wood, and Metal), there are five landscape realms which provide for spatial experiences reflecting different aspects of the island – heritage, community life, agriculture, ecology, water, and tourism. The approach combines landscape planning with an agricultural IoT ecosystem. Sensor systems, environmental monitoring, smart irrigation, digital mapping, drones, and data-driven agricultural management become additional infrastructure of the project. They will allow farmers to monitor soil and water parameters and create more sustainable production system. At the same time, tourists will have the opportunity to explore agriculture, ecological landscapes, local food production, heritage routes, and community spaces as part of tourism network. The result is a regenerative landscape framework in which conservation supports community development, technology improves rural production, and tourism is used to bring additional value to the island. The project is implemented in phases: from the introduction of pilot IoT system and ecological/heritage mapping to improvement of visitor experience; from smart agricultural and cultural network to integration of environmental and tourism data. The spatial vocabulary of the island is also tied with the Mekong Delta – shaded pedestrian paths, productive gardens, water edges, open spaces for various activities and local materials ensure this continuity from the existing village to the new public spaces. Thus, innovation is still culturally based and understandable to both residents and visitors of the site. This project is not just an experiment in masterplanning but rather an example of how the rural landscape can be transformed through design. This project shows how design can help to tackle various social and environmental problems with the help of design that takes into account local identity, ecology, agricultural knowledge and new technology. In the Ong Ho Island, heritage is not frozen in time but is alive in its functioning as a community, ecology, education, agriculture and sustainable tourism.
- Category
- VISUAL ART
- Approved
- 30 August 2026
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