Recently, Eden has had the opportunity to work on many tourism and resort projects in Sapa – a famous highland town in Lao Cai province, the “tourism capital” of the Northwest region, with its majestic mountainous scenery, terraced rice fields, and unique ethnic culture.

A common characteristic of projects in Sapa is the steep and complex terrain. This is a challenge, but also an opportunity to create a unique and irreplaceable landscape design. Instead of leveling the ground, Eden considers the terrain as a foundational structure for organizing the landscape space.

We can illustrate this through a section we worked on in a recent project. Cross-section 1A-1A shows a section with a distance of 62m, with elevation changes from +0.00 to +22.00. With such a large elevation difference, instead of leveling and minimizing terrain changes, the solution chosen was to divide the natural slope into several small, continuous layers of elevation: +0.50, +1.50, +4.0, +6.0, +7.0, +8.0, and +9. This organization creates a unique travel experience. Instead of climbing a steep slope in one go, users pass through a series of “climb – rest – open view” spaces, guiding the pace of the experience.

From mountainous projects in Sa Pa to projects by the shores of Phu Quoc Island, sloping terrain is not just a technical challenge but also a factor shaping emotions and spatial experiences. Throughout his career, Eden has realized that the more challenging the terrain, the more cautious and restrained the intervention decisions need to be, allowing nature and the inherent elements of the place to play a leading role, creating sustainable and unique values for each project.

Eden Landscape