History through Hà Nội’s
architecture
Located in the centre of Hà Nội, Đồng Xuân Market
has become an iconic landmark that has witnessed many ups and downs of the
1,000-year-old capital.
Trading hub: The architecture of Đồng Xuân market in the
heart of Hà Nội is known for its tropical features, though it was designed
and constructed by the French in 1889 when they embarked on exploiting
Indochina colonies. VNS photo Trương Vị
The
architecture of the market is known for its tropical features, though it was
designed and constructed by the French in 1889 when they embarked on
exploiting Indochina colonies.
Specifically,
the two-layer corrugated iron roof of the building aims to aid ventilation
and release heat. Initially, the
market had a total area of about 6,500m2 including a complex of five adjacent
houses. The façade of the market consists of five big entrances featuring
French-style doors, and the whole building is sheltered by air-gap walls that
maximise ventilation and absorb natural light.
Additionally, according to architect Đào Ngọc
Nghiêm, vice chairman of the Hà Nội Association for Urban Planning and
Development, the French skillfully designed the dome of the market
similar to the entrance of the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long, which combined
with French-style architecture to create a special building.
The
architecture of the market reveals that its designer aimed to create a
typical market for a tropical area, seeking harmony between French and
indigenous culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
It was also
one of the first examples of how Vietnamese architectural elements were
integrated into French-style buildings in the city.
East meets
West
The French colonists first came to
Việt Nam in the late 19th century. In 1886, the French in Hà Nội
established the municipal council with the aim of "turning Hà Nội into a
European city".
Over a history of more than 100
years in Việt Nam, and Hà Nội in particular, the French left a valuable,
unique and advanced heritage of their architecture and structures in Hà Nội.
Before French colonialism, Hà Nội
had three major components: the imperial citadel, commercial zone (the Old
Quarter which featured streets on which a number of crafts and merchandise
were sold) and the surrounding rural area.
Hà Nội at that time was considered
the administrative centre of the whole Indochina. The city planning that
French architects brought to Hà Nội gave it a new face.
Hà Nội, with mud-walled cottages,
was transformed into a more organised, orderly city which featured both
traditional tube houses in the Old Quarter, elegant houses and villas for the
French living in Hà Nội and well off native merchants, the chessboard
streets, tree-lined boulevards, entertainment structures imported from France
as well as the advanced system of drainage, planned grid network of streets
and parks, and public spaces for the community.
The French buildings and structures
in Hà Nội belong to various styles – neo-classical, Indochina style, art deco
– yet the finest and most important would be Indochina style. It is a fusion
of modern and traditional architectural elements, of French and Vietnamese
style that brought structures into harmony with the townscape as well as the tropical
climate of Hà Nội.
“When
the French arrived in Việt Nam, they were impressed with the local
architecture that was both beautiful and suitable to local culture, climate
and scenery. In the second phase, after the First World War, more Vietnamese
or Oriental elements were integrated into the structures to create a new
architectural style, or Indochina style,” says architect Trần Quốc Bảo, a
lecturer at the National University of Civil Engineering and also a member of
the Group of Researchers on Architecture of Hà Nội.
In the
mid-1920s, a series of buildings were constructed in the Indochina style. The
leading architect of this style, later on known as Indochina-style
architecture, was E. Hébrard from France. After years of working in
Indochina, he held a special interest in the indigenous culture and created
many building projects in both Hà Nội and Đà Lạt in the Central Highlands
province of Lâm Đồng.
The
representative buildings for this architectural style in Hà Nội include the
l’Université d’Indochine, Louis Finot Museum, Direction des Finances,
Church of Martyrs and Institut Pasteur.
What is
interesting about such buildings is that their interiors are totally in the
French style and operate like any French buildings, but they are sheltered by
Vietnamese-style structures.
The most
popular Vietnamese features that could be found in Indochina-style buildings
include the heat-proof roof, steep porch sheltering the buildings from rain
and sun, the system of light and ventilation, in additional to the maximum
use of shady trees.
“Architecturally
speaking, Vietnamese patterns used in French buildings were utilised
particularly in the villas and condos,
designed by a renowned French architecture and located on Trần Phú and Lý
Nam Đế Streets,” Bảo says.
In many
Indochina-style villas, the tiled roofs contain many layers. The corners of
the roofs are curved up and decorated with typical Vietnamese patterns like
dragons, while the houses might be decorated with relief figures inspired by
Oriental art.
According to architect Nghiêm, the
Indochina-style buildings and structures in Hà Nội are an important heritage,
reflecting the creative application of French architectural solutions in Việt
Nam’s natural and cultural conditions.
Additionally, the bamboo or cloth
curtain used in Vietnamese houses at the time was replaced by glass windows
though which sunlight could still be absorbed to avoid the heat of Hà Nội.
“The Indochina-style structure is an
important symbol of integration, yet not losing the identity of Việt Nam,”
says Nghiêm.
Current
state
According to
architect Bảo, there are nine public Indochina-style mansions and condos,
which also now serve as public buildings, in good condition in the capital.
“Most of the
public buildings are used similarly to their original functions. For example,
the l’Université d’Indochine is now the location of Việt Nam National
University, Louis Finot Museum has been used as the National Museum of
Vietnamese History, and the Direction des Finances has become the head office
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Two major
villas, on 36 Trần Phú Street and 4 Lý Nam Đế, have been transformed into
public buildings, but their space is still well preserved,” he says.
According to
a recent survey, there are around 1,600 French-style villas in the capital,
among which over 500 villas are privately-owned and over 1,000 others are
state-owned.
“The
restoration and renewal of the French-style public buildings has been
conducted methodologically, leaving barely any changes to their original
states. Some privately-owned villas and condos; on the other hands, are
suffering from severe deterioration,” he says.
Conservation
Hà Nội Department of Planning and
Architecture has cooperated with the Urban and Architecture Institute to
carry out the project "Preservation of French Architecture Legacy"
in Hà Nội.
The project developed a list of
criteria to evaluate the value of French houses in Hà Nội.
Factors taken into account include:
architectural value (40 points), authenticity (20 points), historical and
cultural value (15 points), planning and landscape value (15 points),
functions and ownership (10 points). Those awarded more than 75 points will
be listed as ‘especially valuable’, those with 60 to 74 points listed as
‘highly valuable’ and the rest listed as having ‘average value’.
“It is important that experts
carefully evaluate the current state as well as cultural, historical and
architectural value of the structures and classify them to put them in the
order of preservation priority,” says Nghiêm.
“We do not have sufficient budget
for the preservation of all structures. We need to conduct surveys to find
the current state of these structures, carefully evaluate them and include
the most valuable and characteristic in the list of strict conservation. The
authorities should work out a detailed policy and instructions for this and
listing must be based on very careful surveys and research.
“What is more important is that the
structures shouldn’t be treated as a relic but a ‘living’ structure with
functions and values still maintained and continued today,” says Nghiêm.
"We can learn from the
conservation experience of other countries, for example Italy, Singapore or
Thailand. There may be hundreds of ancient valuable houses but only a few are
listed among the structures put under strict conservation schemes."
Rapid urban development poses some
challenges in conserving the city’s heritage. Hà Nội has yet to develop a
plan and specific solutions for such conservation. We should also tap the
role of the community in conservation. There must be an agreement between
experts and the community.
“We need to call for sponsors as
well as owners to join in conservation work. The proceeds from tourism
activities will be shared with owners and sponsors. Privatisation is a
practical solution as we can hardly rely on the state budget for conservation
work,” Nghiêm adds.
Besides the preservation efforts of
high-value French-style buildings in the capital, the architectural experts
have also raised concerns about the mass construction of new buildings with
French inspiration, which however, due to improper study of design, lack
architectural authenticity.
“The French-style buildings are
valuable property of the city only when they are built in the proper period
of time. It is already the 21st century, so there should no more new
constructions of Indochina-style buildings in particular and French-style
buildings in general in the city,” architecture lecturer Bảo says.
Viet Nam News/by Lương Hương & Hồng Vân
|
Thứ Hai, 7 tháng 5, 2018
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