To: Department of Planning and Architecture of Hanoi City

The Ministry of Construction received Official Dispatch No. 5896/QHKT-P2 dated December 3, 2020 from the Department of Planning and Architecture of Hanoi City requesting guidance on regulations regarding the number of stories and height of the construction project “Commercial Center, Service and Hotel Complex” at the land plot No. 200 Yen Phu, Yen Phu and Quang An wards, Tay Ho district, Hanoi. After studying, the Ministry of Construction has the following opinions:

1. Regarding the concept of high-rise buildings:

A high-rise building is a building whose height is a decisive factor in design, construction or usage conditions that differ from ordinary buildings¹. The International Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat classifies high-rise buildings into 4 types according to the number of stories as follows: (1) Type 1 high-rise building: from 9 to 16 stories; (2) Type 2 high-rise building: from 17 to 25 stories; (3) Type 3 high-rise building: from 26 to 40 stories; (4) Type 4 high-rise building: from 40 stories and above, called a super high-rise building.

The National Technical Regulation QCVN 17:2018/BXD on Outdoor Advertising Facilities has explained that “a high-rise building is a building with 8 stories or more”. However, this explanation is only applicable within the scope of QCVN 17:2018/BXD on the construction and installation of outdoor advertising facilities, to stipulate the technical conditions for attaching/fitting outdoor advertising facilities to existing construction works.

Accordingly, the proposal of the Department of Planning and Architecture of Hanoi City with the content “a high-rise building is a building with a height of 9 stories or more” to determine the benchmark for high-rise buildings in construction activity management in Hanoi City is consistent with the definition of high-rise buildings worldwide (according to structural scale), and the benchmark for determining high-rise buildings in national standards currently applied in structural design for high-rise buildings in Vietnam, including TCVN 9363:2012 Investigation for Construction – Geotechnical Investigation for High-rise Buildings.

2. Regarding the clear height:

The National Technical Regulations only provide provisions to limit the minimum clear height² to ensure safe usability for people in the construction works. To ensure compatibility with different purposes of use, meet the architectural form and creativity of each specific project, the technical regulations do not limit the maximum clear height.

The determination of the height of construction works in general, and the “Commercial Center, Service and Hotel Complex” project (mentioned above) in particular, must be approved by the competent authority in the detailed planning scheme (or master plan), urban design or architectural planning management regulations, on the principle of conformity with the objectives of landscape architecture management according to the specifics of each urban area, each area of the urban area; ensuring management requirements on land use planning criteria, infrastructure, space, architecture, landscape and the permissible construction-free altitude.

The above is the response of the Ministry of Construction proposing the Department of Planning and Architecture of Hanoi City to study and guide units to implement in accordance with the actual situation in the locality and the provisions of law.

1 Definition by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)

2 Clear height is the height from the finished floor to the underside of the finished structural beam, slab, or ceiling, or the technical system of the floor.