Ashui.com

President Place office building in Ho Chi Minh City has already pre-leased half of its space ahead of its formal opening of April 10—a sign that "green" designs can attract tenants.

"What we have at President Place is that it is as organic as buildings can get," explained Philip Cluer, leasing coordinator at President Place.

"By this I mean in terms of the whole lifecycle of the project, from planning and design to operation and hopefully through to longevity of the building as an office destination as a result of the efficient design, in both a physical design and construction sense but also with our environmental stance looking to the future."

The building is located on Nguyen Du Street in District 1, near the Reunification Palace and the city's law court.

Cluer said: "Being in such an important historic location with the law court opposite, which is now a heritage site, and the Reunification Palace, we were restricted on building height and on massing. This is why we have a 'step back' at the 9th floor level which allows us to create a fantastic terrace."

Alex Crane, the Landlords leasing consultant at Savills, said for any building to pre-lease in this market was a triumph.

"This isn't luck. This is the result of years of planning and design by Sapphire to provide the very best working environment and experience for the modern office occupier," Crane added.

Thuy Nguyen