Only OK

A few thoughts on architecture in Hanoi.

There’s a lot of history in this city. This year, Hanoi is celebrating its one-thousandth anniversary as Vietnam’s capitol (and the city dates from much further back). At the Temple of Literature, tablets naming and celebrating doctoral graduates date back hundreds of years.

Traditional Vietnamese architecture at the Temple of Literature.

Tucked away in the city’s maze of streets in the Old Quarter, you’ll find lovely little temples, beautifully crumbling old houses and and very pleasing patchwork of old and new.

Temple tucked into Hanoi's Old Quarter.

Trouble is, Hanoi is growing, and though its residents clearly appreciate the historic character of their city, development threatens to overrun some of the old. Some “renovation” projects are clearly “rebuilding” projects–you see this particularly at temples: there’s no hesitation about tearing down a feature that’s old and replacing it with a “historic” copy. And some old buildings just fall to development. I’ve heard it said that the Vietnamese don’t particularly like living in older buildings, since it’s assumed there are the spirits of the past hanging about–and who wants to sleep with ghosts?

That said, there are exceptions. The lovely old house at 87 Ma May Street in Hanoi has been preserved as a tourist destination. It’s an example of the old-style homes that used to fill the Old Quarter. Beautiful carved wooden doors and windows, wooden floors, the thresholds you have to step over, the clay tile roof–they’ve all be faithfully preserved. It would be nice if more places of character were preserved as actual working and living places, however. Perhaps the city’s growing wealth will help fund more preservation. Places like this are why tourists flock to Hanoi:

Traditional house at 87 Ma May Street.

Elsewhere in the city, you find lots of great colonial-era buildings. Many of these governmental and cultural buildings incorporate a pleasing blend of French architecture (big narrow windows, courtyards, high roofs) with elements of traditional Vietnamese and Asian design (tiled roofs, sweeping angles, traditional symbols, etc.). A great example of this fusion is the National Museum of History, which was designed by the French architect Ernest Hébrard in 1930. It’s an elegant building.

National Museum of History, Hanoi.

The Opera House and State Guest House are two other opulent examples of the French influence:

Hanoi Opera House.

State Guest House.

The city is packed with other examples, from the many embassies and diplomatic buildings to the Cathedral and the Presidential palace. I should note that all these buildings are exceedingly well preserved, and they give Hanoi a truly unique character.

During the communist era, a lot of buildings have gone up. Some are what you’d expect, like this school:

Modernist school, Hanoi.

There’s a fondness for cinder blocks and concrete in this style. Still, some of the modernist, utilitarian buildings have a kind of blunt, upfront character that I like. I’m not a fan of the Ho Chi Minh Masoleum and the surrounding authoritarian space. But this building, I kind of like, with its traditional elements (longevity symbols carved into the concrete) and its high “windows” that echo other older buildings in the city:

I don’t have a great example of any stand-out contemporary architecture in Hanoi. Doesn’t mean there aren’t any, but I have yet to see anything that has grabbed my attention. Most new construction is of the ubiquitous steel-and-glass school that could have been found in Hanoi or Atlanta:

New construction, Hanoi.

OK, maybe there’s one example of something interesting on the horizon. Found this online. It’s in a new commercial district planned for Hanoi. It’s called the Golden Lotus Tower. Don’t know much more than a few pics from the architect’s website, but I’m intrigued:

Proposed Golden Lotus Tower, Hanoi.