For the first time ever, Dolphin Plaza, a high-end residential and commercial complex, won first prize in the 2012 Vietnam Architecture Competition.

At the biennial competition, co-organized by the Vietnam Architects' Society and the Ministries of Construction and Culture, Sports and Tourism, the complex, located at My Dinh in Tu Liem district, beat 140 contenders hands down and is considered by the jury “the focal point of new Hanoi.”

With four 28-floor blocks resembling open books, the complex offers its residents an environment-friendly, comfy living and working space, adorned with nice views, good facilities and public places for kids and the elderly as well as communal services.

The jury also highly appreciated the complex in that its investor chose to limit its construction area to 32% only and sacrificed plenty of room to give it the ideal airiness.

Dolphin Plaza was designed by Singaporean architect Tan Jiann Woei, who works for DP Architects Pte Ltd. and who also co-designed Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands.

The five runners-up are a book titled “Phat Trien Kien Truc Ben Vung, Kien Truc Xanh in Vietnam” (Developing Stable, Environment-Friendly Architecture in Vietnam), Vincom Village, an ecological metropolis, Can Tho Airport’s passenger terminal, Dai Lai-Vinh Phuc Convention Center, and the Dak Lak museum.

The competition also gave away 17 third prizes and 15 consolation ones.