The SSGE School in Ho Chi Minh City is located on a Riverview site in the Binh Thanh District. The school has public roads on three sides and will be accessed at two separate ends for the elementary and secondary schools. Each of the two school entrances will have a drop off area which can accommodate both schools and buses.
The key features of the design are GREEN architectural planning, the extensive gardens and outdoor spaces, generous facilities and efficient classroom planning.
The school has been designed to take advantage of GREEN architectural planning principle. This is accomplished in several ways. Firstly, the building has been designed to take advantage of natural light and natural ventilation. For example, all the main classrooms are designed so that they can have natural light and cross ventilation if required. In addition the façade pattern has been designed to create a delicate balance between the amount of natural light allowed to enter the rooms and the subsequent heat gained created. In this respect each orientation of the façade of the building (North, East, South, West) has a slightly different pattern which allows the correct amount of light to enter the room. Another key to the façade design is the balance of light within the classroom. Almost all the classrooms have windows on two sides which allow the occupants to balance the light levels and avoid the contrast issues created by differing light levels between inside and outside.
The landscape and outdoor space planning of the project is extensive. There are playing fields, gardens, plazas, deck, and roof terraces distributed throughout the school. The concept is that the ‘landscape’ design is thought of a being a three dimensional platform so that the students, teachers and visitors have constant access to social and interactive zones. Two main areas are the garden plaza on top of the library which allows for casual student interactions and the then internal gardens within the primary school building which allow for the students to play indoors in a controlled environment.
The classrooms are planned based on international standards and sizes . REAL Architecture has designed numerous schools for international developers in Vietnam and this project takes advantage of all the techniques and standards that we have learned in that time. In addition we have used this expertise to design the more technical aspects of the school including the science rooms, music rooms, library, auditorium, and art areas. Another key feature of the school development is the central shared facilities building. In this building are the canteen, changing rooms, gymnasium, and pool. By placing the building in the middle of the development it allows the facilities to be shared independently by both primary and secondary students as well as  being able to open the structure for public use after school hours.