The front Building was formerly Blanchard de la Brosse Museum, designed by architect named Auguste Delaval with ancient architectural feature. This Building has a length of 70m, width of 30m, its total area used is 2,100m. The overall plan consists of the octagonal tower block in the center as a highlight and also symmetric axis for two rows of the Building on two sides. In general, the architecture of this Building is in typical Indochinese style.
The following Building was designed by architect named Nguyen Ba Lang, built in series to the front Building. The Building is U-shaped with an area of 1,000m2, designed in harmonious way and process the landscape to match the ancient architecture of the rear building.
Although decorative motifs used in the museum architecture are made of various materials (wood, iron, cement), they are common patterns and similar to many contemporary ancient architectural works. Each detail has different meanings but in general, they have a good meaning. This is the intangible cultural heritage that is contained in the Building, in particular decorative architectural motifs. These motifs also show the cultural exchange of Vietnam - France, making the museum architectural work have not only Asian but also Western features.
In general, the architecture of the Building has designs in line with the function of a museum such as: High foundation, thick walls for anti-moisture and good load bearing; high ceiling with windows close to the roof to take advantage of the natural light for the rooms, etc. It can be said that the building of History Museum – Ho Chi Minh City has been used in accordance with original design function so far. Until 2012, the Building of History Museum – Ho Chi Minh City was ranked by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to be as a national architectural monument.