Architect

My dear Andy,

Do you want to build a house or just want to design on the paper?

JimmyL wrote:

My dear Andy,

Do you want to build a house or just want to design on the paper?

The plan is to buy the construction material (with support from the architect) and renting construction worker.
I am not hurry. Step by step. 
First step is filling up the land and building a wall around it.
And then the next step.

where do you want to build the house?

I am construction engneer. I can help u for: estimate, calculate costs,  supervision.. 
If you want an architector for design  facade and interior,  I will introduce my friends.
I only meet you after time office.  I work in 7 district.

Andy,

This company will provide almost furniture for your home if you would like
http://danglongfurniture.com/lien-he.html

This company is one of suppliers for Walmart and Ikea so you don't worry about the design. They are excellent

Price is very reasonable. I have paid for my home  and found out that no where can get better price than this place

They also can help you to build design for your home too. If you build outline of your home and require the completion task. This company can do it.

JimmyL wrote:

Andy,

This company will provide almost furniture for your home if you would like
http://danglongfurniture.com/lien-he.html

This company is one of suppliers for Walmart and Ikea so you don't worry about the design. They are excellent

Price is very reasonable. I have paid for my home  and found out that no where can get better price than this place

They also can help you to build design for your home too. If you build outline of your home and require the completion task. This company can do it.

Thank you JimmyL

But I know already a interior decorator.
I need arcitect for the construction of a house.

quangdung01 wrote:

I am construction engneer. I can help u for: estimate, calculate costs,  supervision.. 
If you want an architector for design  facade and interior,  I will introduce my friends.
I only meet you after time office.  I work in 7 district.

Thank you quangdung01.

But I need an architect who create a plan and calculate the statics for the local building authorities.

Make sure your design is approved by the local authorities. You can't just build houses however you want here in Vietnam. They have to be approved before you can break ground. Get those red envelopes ready. Lots of them.

The difference between your two photos is principally about the availability of land.  We have friends who own an expansive single story second house with a large western style kitchen, a huge living room, screens on the windows and a yard with trees in CuChi.  Their home in town has as tiny a footprint as their neighbors.  If you plan to build a house as in your second photo, you must have bought more than one lot or perhaps you bought a rau muong patch somewhere in the suburbs.

QuidProQuo wrote:

Make sure your design is approved by the local authorities. You can't just build houses however you want here in Vietnam. They have to be approved before you can break ground. Get those red envelopes ready. Lots of them.

I know that the house must be approved from the local authorities.
That's why I need a serious architect.
 

Having built a house in Vietnam (HCMC) already you must make sure that your architect has police connections in the district or area that you intend to build in. If he does not have a working relationship with the police you are in for a LOT of additional grief.

Just one additional point - you do realise that a foreigner cannot own a house that is NOT an apartment in a condominium? i.e. a house sitting on its own plot of land such as the one in your picture is not possible for a non Vietnamese to own.

THIGV wrote:

The difference between your two photos is principally about the availability of land.  We have friends who own an expansive single story second house with a large western style kitchen, a huge living room, screens on the windows and a yard with trees in CuChi.  Their home in town has as tiny a footprint as their neighbors.  If you plan to build a house as in your second photo, you must have bought more than one lot or perhaps you bought a rau muong patch somewhere in the suburbs.

Yes I know. But because most built house are houses like at the first picture, architectes have maybe no experience for western style houses.
Therefore I mentioned this.

From our apartments I could see how houses are built in Vietnam. And some thing I have seen make me worry.  : /

jpbsimpson wrote:

Having built a house in Vietnam (HCMC) already you must make sure that your architect has police connections in the district or area that you intend to build in. If he does not have a working relationship with the police you are in for a LOT of additional grief.

Just one additional point - you do realise that a foreigner cannot own a house that is NOT an apartment in a condominium? i.e. a house sitting on its own plot of land such as the one in your picture is not possible for a non Vietnamese to own.

I am married here in Vietnam. No problem.

Architects with police connectios is a good point.  :oben:

The land is in the home province of my wife. Her family will support us in "police connetion issues".

The normal price for building a house has grade 4 (area: 100 m²; 3 storey) ; from A to Z:

- The cost of the application for construction permit. max 1.500 USD. it depend where district.
- 14 usd/ m² design.
- 160 uds/ m² for building rough term. ( without cost foundation if they need pile; only frame reinforce concrete, bricks word and plaster wall)
- the finish work depend on your order: tile, paint, door, kitchen cabinet, light, ....

every step must have a company representative.
I your wife is vietnamese... it is not too much hard for many act.

OK Andy you just need to make sure the architect has a relationship with the local police.
The other problem is that some of the "rules"that I was faced with had no reality in common sense, safety or architectural norms in western society. In a few instances I could NOT build what we wanted but was forced into accepting the Vietnamese norm.
The solution was in planning for the changes to be possible AFTER the build was finished and signed off by the police. The changes i.e. what we wanted were then possible as "cosmetic changes"to the internal layout after the original build was inspected and signed off. We ended up using pre-fabricated sections that were delivered to the house and erected with as little noise and fuss as possible but in the end we achieved what we wanted. The problem was NOT with the architect it was the police that would not approve the plans! Anyway the best of luck in your build.

THIGV wrote:

If you plan to build a house as in your second photo, you must have bought more than one lot or perhaps you bought a rau muong patch somewhere in the suburbs.

We wanted buy a house of a project in Binh Chanh. But we dropped out and bought a piece of land in Long An. About one hour from HCMC D1.
We must realize, that good land (already water and power in the street) in Long An is not anymore that cheap.  : Huh:

huh..ah
Long An cheaper..

jpbsimpson wrote:

OK Andy you just need to make sure the architect has a relationship with the local police.
The other problem is that some of the "rules"that I was faced with had no reality in common sense, safety or architectural norms in western society. In a few instances I could NOT build what we wanted but was forced into accepting the Vietnamese norm.
The solution was in planning for the changes to be possible AFTER the build was finished and signed off by the police. The changes i.e. what we wanted were then possible as "cosmetic changes"to the internal layout after the original build was inspected and signed off. We ended up using pre-fabricated sections that were delivered to the house and erected with as little noise and fuss as possible but in the end we achieved what we wanted. The problem was NOT with the architect it was the police that would not approve the plans! Anyway the best of luck in your build.

Thank you jpbsimpson
Helpful information.

Pre-fabricated sections is what I also would like use.
Do you know a good supplier?

Sorry no they were ordered through my architect and I only approved the prices.

jpbsimpson wrote:

Sorry no they were ordered through my architect and I only approved the prices.

I just see it's some year ago when you stay in Vietnam. But maybe you still remember on the name of your architect. 

quangdung01 wrote:

The normal price for building a house has grade 4 (area: 100 m²; 3 storey) ; from A to Z:

- The cost of the application for construction permit. max 1.500 USD. it depend where district.
- 14 usd/ m² design.
- 160 uds/ m² for building rough term. ( without cost foundation if they need pile; only frame reinforce concrete, bricks word and plaster wall)
- the finish work depend on your order: tile, paint, door, kitchen cabinet, light, ....

every step must have a company representative.
I your wife is vietnamese... it is not too much hard for many act.

Thank you quangdung01

Very helpfull for an overview of costs.

I found this architect many years ago when looking to build our house:

http://www.less-is-more-design.com

They are Ho Chi Minh based.

Thank you Davideb

I have already seen this website.
But these are French architects who are specialized for design villas and big building projects.

Probably to expensive for a early retirees like me. 

I just stumbled upon this page that has a list of 204 Designers and Architects in HCMC. Please check.
Another one from google. I'm not sure whether they're affordable or not but they do have a whole bunch of Japanese architects in their team.

senwl wrote:

I just stumbled upon this page that has a list of 204 Designers and Architects in HCMC. Please check.
Another one from google. I'm not sure whether they're affordable or not but they do have a whole bunch of Japanese architects in their team.

Thank you senwl

I will work through it. 

I originally hoped that an expat has already gained experience with a local architect. 

quangdung01 wrote:

The normal price for building a house has grade 4 (area: 100 m²; 3 storey) ; from A to Z:

- The cost of the application for construction permit. max 1.500 USD. it depend where district.
- 14 usd/ m² design.
- 160 uds/ m² for building rough term. ( without cost foundation if they need pile; only frame reinforce concrete, bricks word and plaster wall)
- the finish work depend on your order: tile, paint, door, kitchen cabinet, light, ....

every step must have a company representative.
I your wife is vietnamese... it is not too much hard for many act.

Quangdung01, do you know exactly how the floor space is calculated by Vietnamese architects?
Is the veranda on the ground floor, for example, fully included in the calculation of the area?
Or the balcony on the first floor?
And is it common in Vietnam to include the attic (a gabled roof) as a floor in the calculation of the area (up to the outer edges of the roof) and that with 1.5 times the area?

For example, if you are building a house with a gabled roof with a ground floor and only an upper floor, it will really be calculated like this:
- Ground floor (incl. veranda): 180m2 x 100%
- 1st floor (incl. balconies) : 100m2 x 100%
- Gable roof (with concrete slab above the 1st floor): 150m2 x 150%
Total: 180 + 100 + 225 = 505m2.

Thanks in advance for your help.