Chinese Footprint
It is a whole philosophy of construction that the Chinese developed and the Vietnamese took over. Science as much as divinatory art, geomancy presides over the edification of all things. It respects the laws of harmony of Yin and Yang by following the currents of the earth (white tiger), the waters (blue dragon) and the winds (green dragon) and is based on a rigorous observation of the stars and their position in the sky in order to determine the favourable day to start a construction site. Feng Shui, aiming at a complete harmony with the universe, allows to determine the adequate location and the ideal orientation of buildings. The architecture is therefore the bearer of a deep spirituality. This is obviously found in cult buildings such as pagodas and temples. The pagoda (chua) is a religious building derived from the Indian stupa (reliquary or commemorative monument characteristic of Buddhism) and dedicated to the worship of Buddha. It is often surmounted by a multi-storey tower of circular, pyramidal, orthogonal or square shape, or by a multi-storey roof with raised edges. It is built of stone or brick and is richly decorated. It is generally divided into three spaces symbolizing the three degrees of time: past, present and future. Thetemple (den ) is not dedicated to a deity, but to geniuses, figures whose devotion to the service of a village, a trade guild, a family... The Tay Phuong pagoda, or "master's pagoda" in Sai Son, founded during the reign of Ly Nan Tong, is a fine example of Chinese inspiration. Note the small pavilion on stilts perched on the lake facing the pagoda, which is accessed by two bridges covered with tile roofs, a material frequently used by the Chinese. These same roofs, richly decorated with ceramics, can be found in the Thien Mu pagoda or "pagoda of the celestial lady" in Hue, the latter also distinguished by its seven-storey stupa representing the seven reincarnations of Buddha. In Hanoi, Van Miêu or "Temple of Literature" is probably the finest example of a temple in the Chinese style. Formerly dedicated to Confucius, it became in the 13th century the first university of the country. We admire in particular the series of old-style gardens with basins in which the protective walls of the temple and its monumental entrance portico were built. The Chinese also inspired the first Vietnamese imperial cities, such as Hue. In 1805, Emperor Gia Lang chose it as his capital and began major works there. Very largely inspired by the Forbidden City of Beijing, it is organized in 3 concentric enclosures: the Imperial City, the Imperial City and the Forbidden Purple City. Today, only about twenty of the original hundred or so buildings remain, all of which have been classified as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Chinese influence can also be seen in the civil architecture. In Hoi An, you can admire beautiful old mansions and other community houses formerly occupied by Chinese congregations. In Hanoi, in the oldest part of the city, known as the "36 Corporations District", or in Cholon, Ho Chi Minh City's Chinatown, you can see the traditional shophouses, boutique houses with richly decorated facades, as well as tube houses, so called because of their low height, narrow facades and incredible length, up to 100 m, built around inner courtyards linked by long corridors.Cham and Khmer architecture
Established in central Vietnam from the 2nd century, the Kingdom of Champa has left some superb vestiges of its culture and art, inherited from Hindu art. Cham shrines are mostly made of red brick, square in plan and topped with towers symbolizing Mount Meru, a mythical mountain considered the axis of the world in Hindu mythology. The Cham towers of Po Nagar are exceptional witnesses of this culture. Between the 7th and 12th centuries, 8 towers were built on this natural promontory. Only 4 have survived, including tower A, which is pyramidal in shape and 23 m high. It is interesting to see how these originally Hindu Cham temples became today Buddhist sanctuaries. A beautiful form of syncretism operated by the architecture. Other beautiful vestiges not to be missed: the towers of Po Klong Garai and the towers near Qui Nhon.
The Khmers, who consider themselves to be the descendants of the first occupants of southern Vietnam, also left precious architectural witnesses, starting with superb Buddhist pagodas. Often in grey stone, their monumental buildings feature elaborate and colourful decoration. In Soc Trang province, there are dozens of Khmer pagodas. Built in 1815, the Sàlôn pagoda in Dai Tâm dazzles with its walls decorated with thousands of brightly coloured ceramic pieces. Its roofs are also richly decorated with decorative elements symbolizing peace. The Kh'leang pagoda is adorned in superb colours, as well as three flared roofs decorated with motifs evoking nature and symbolizing harmony between Buddha, earth and people. Also noteworthy is the main shrine with its 16 gilded wooden columns. These shimmering gildings are found on the two-storey roof of the emblematic Chua Doi pagoda, known as the "Bat Pagoda".Colonial heritage
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City still bear the imprint of their colonial past: both were redeveloped by the French. Before becoming the "Pearl of the Far East", Saigon was a small village of bamboo huts. Upon their arrival, the French colonists wanted to make it a strong image of the protectorate. They therefore undertook extensive development and urbanization work: draining the swamps, digging canals, building streets and avenues... In this new city where streets and boulevards cross at right angles, the Vietnamese hovels are replaced by sumptuous villas. The architecture of this period can be divided into two main phases. The first corresponds to the arrival of the French. The objective of Paul Bert, then Governor General, was clear: the colonial power had to be written in stone. The French were to endow the two cities with monumental buildings in the purest neoclassical style. In Hanoi, it was the Opera House, reminiscent of the Opéra Garnier; in Saigon, it was the City Hall, the Municipal Theater, reminiscent of the Petit Palais, and the Central Post Office, whose iron framework was designed by Gustave Eiffel. In religious matters, France imposed Catholicism and did not hesitate to raze a large number of pagodas to the ground in order to erect churches and cathedrals. This was the case in Hanoi where one of the most venerable pagodas of the city was destroyed to erect the neo-Gothic cathedral of Saint Joseph, or in Saigon with the neo-Romanesque cathedral of Notre-Dame, which, like the church of the Sacred Heart of Tan Dinh, is clad in pink stone from Toulouse. This use of materials imported from France can be seen in the houses of old Hanoi whose construction began in 1887 and whose roofs are made of tiles from Bordeaux. A Vietnamese brick factory later began to manufacture this material locally. The second period began in the 1920s under the impetus of Ernest Hébrard, then in charge of the architecture and urban planning department. This was the birth of the "Indochinese" style, a fusion of East and West. Ernest Hébrard advocated the renovation and adaptation of buildings to the environment rather than the construction of purely French buildings with no link to the local culture. Large verandas, overflowing roofs to protect against the monsoons, thicker walls to cool or conserve heat... everything was rethought to better live in the tropical climate. The former Louis Finot Museum and the École française d'Extrême-Orient (now the National Museum of Vietnamese History) are fine examples of this fusion of styles.
In the 1930s, Art Deco made its appearance. It can be found in the former Saigon Sports Circle, or at the Majestic Hotel, whose elegant façade plays on curved and straight lines reminiscent of the grand hotels of the French Riviera. Another emblematic Art Deco building is the Dalat train station, the oldest in Vietnam and, for some, an exact replica of the Deauville station. Imagined by Paul Doumer and Alexandre Yersin, Dalat is an astonishing landscape city, a kind of high altitude climatic resort where each house reflects a French style. One finds the Basque style (asymmetrical roofs, half-timbered gables), the Savoyard style (wooden chalet with balconies), the Norman style (half-timbering and half-timbering) and the Breton style (use of large stones and slates). The Summer Palace of H.M. Bao Dai (Dinh III), built between 1933 and 1938, is a more sober and functional modernist building.
Continental and Majestic Hotels in Ho Chi Minh City, Sofitel Metropole Hotel in Hanoi... you can now spend the night in one of these great witnesses of the colonial era.The Vietnamese house
The vernacular architecture draws its diversity from the wealth of materials offered by Vietnamese nature: wood, bamboo, palm, rattan... Whether on stilts or on one level, in wood or earth, with thatched or tiled roofs, Vietnamese houses follow the principles of geomancy to the letter in order to integrate harmoniously and equilibrate with the surrounding nature. Each ethnic group has its own rites and customs, especially in terms of architecture. But a first distinction can be made between North and South. In the North, the houses are single-storey, built on the ground, generally in laterite (red or brown rock), and their roofs, often tiled, are curved. In the South, houses on stilts are the most common and are often made from coconut palms, which are very common in the area. In addition to providing protection and ventilation, building on stilts has symbolic significance. According to some beliefs, the house on stilts represents the turtle, a powerful symbol of longevity: the wooden stilts are its legs, the floor its belly and the roof its protective shell. As a general rule, whatever the region, roofs are often steeply pitched to allow better drainage of rainwater and windows are wider than they are high and generally protected by bamboo panels to preserve the habitat from sun and wind.
In Vietnamese villages, one house surpasses the others in the role it plays within the community: the communal or dinh house. Both a place of worship for the village geniuses and a community centre where local affairs are discussed, these houses are a major component of Vietnamese tradition. Whether they are built on stilts or on one level, they are most often made of wood and extend in length, offering large spaces for celebrations and gatherings. In the central highlands, these communal houses have a very particular silhouette. They stand out with their incredible roofs that are as high and long as they are steep. Today, ecotourism is developing and many villages are opening the doors of these communal houses. Built in 2012, the community house of Suôi Rè is a superb example of perpetuation of the tradition. Made of rock and bamboo, it blends perfectly into its environment.
The urban villas also have their traditions. One of their most visible characteristics is the omnipresence of the garden where trees, flowers and ponds are scattered, transforming the house into an oasis of freshness and serenity. Another important point is that the entrance gate is not aligned with the main entrance door, or if it is, a small low wall is added at the end of the driveway to avoid direct views of the interior and to prevent the wind from blowing into the house. As a general rule, the path to the main house is seldom straight, and hedges are often placed at the end of the driveway, again to prevent the wind, which is laden with negative symbolism, from blowing into the house. The house generally consists of 3 to 5 rooms aligned horizontally, plus 2 lean-to apartments. The structure is made of carved wood. If today the individual villas give pride of place to Western styles, certain elements recall a certain attachment to tradition: veranda reminiscent of the lean-to of traditional houses, altar dedicated to the ancestors of the home, presence of plants as symbols of the gardens of yesteryear..Contemporary architecture
In the 1960s, Vietnam did not escape the sovietization of architecture. Monumental and intended to establish the communist power, it is found especially in palaces and mausoleums. In Hanoi, the austere and imposing National Assembly is a good example, as is the Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City, which covers nearly 20,000 m². But it is of course the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi that best represents this trend. Massive, in gray granite and polished stone, it borrows from the codes of classical antiquity and takes on the appearance of a modern temple. The Soviets also developed collective housing in the form of large building bars.
Today, the country's two major cities are no exception to the race for verticality in an attempt to manage demographic pressure. Each city now has its own emblematic tower: in Hanoi, the Keangnam Tower, 336 meters high, and in Ho Chi Minh City, the Bitexco Tower, 300 meters high and whose shapes are supposed to evoke those of a lotus flower. Alongside the luxury complexes that are springing up all over the place, some architects are opting for an architecture that is all about sobriety and minimalism, in perfect harmony with the environment, as shown by the very beautiful Lycée français in Ho Chi Minh City with its buildings organized into patios and gardens. Vo Trong Nghia, a leading figure in this movement and an internationally recognized architect, has developed bamboo structures of great elegance and above all durability. The Wind and Water Bar in Binh Duong, in the shape of an arch, or the Bamboo Wings auditorium in Vinh Phuc, whose shape is reminiscent of the flight of a bird, are two examples of this contemporary architecture using traditional know-how in a constant search for sustainability and harmony. A research that we hope to find in the development of the Thu Thiem district in Ho Chi Minh City. Won by the French agency DeSo, the project gives pride of place to nature and bioclimatic devices, and should establish itself as the country's most important business center in the years to come.
