VIETNAM
VIETNAM
HANOI UNIVERSITY OF CIVIL EGINEERING [HUCE] has been a partner university of TU darmstadt for many years. It has been founded in 1966, and hanoi having been in the french part while the south was occupied by the US, the french government still supports some french speaking study programs at HUCE.
for a student excursion a local academic partner is always useful - like in our case for an introduction to urbanism in vietnam and hanoi in particular. When we arrived, a group of HUCE students of architecture received us with their vespas, each of them taking one german visitor in the back seat and off we went for an architectural sightseeing tour.
HANOI - CITY
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HANOI being the capital of vietnam, offers a variety of cultural and diplomatic institutions and also was less affected by the US war - apart from the tow failed invasions to cuba the only country that ever militarily defeated the US! it is also one of the few countries that maintain some elements of socialist politics - which is why vietnam only had about 350 corona infected citizens in total and zero deaths! [juli 200 data].
our city tour on the back of motorbikes was dedicated to different phases of vietnamese housing construction. Like most socialist, and also capitalist, countries, vietnam embarked on government built walk-up apartment buildings. nowadays they are still considered good value because of their adequate flat size, central location, and extremely low rents.
Like in all socialist states, the government never managed to keep up with social housing construction to cover demand. on the other hand, there were sufficient families with the necessary means to construct their own houses. apparently because of socialist plot size regulations, the available inner city plots were meant for a one-family house - but families can be very large in that country and, in addition, an own business is part of the tradition. this way, the only option for owners is to built up to the sky: a practice that can be observed in hanoi and saigon in particular.
on the other hand, social housing also modernized still exists, but following the international pattern, just added up more floors for cases who had a legal right for relocation [like after demolitions], while the growing sector of private investors was directed towards the city fringe, where there was space for prestigious apartment blocks with neo-classical facades and underground parking.
on the following day, we visited a successful private architect's company
engaged mostl in commercial developments. there were more than 100 young architects working side-by-side, some of them even improvising an additional desk on a board suspended in-between two regular desks.
HALONG BAY
HALONG BAY represents a spectacular landscape made from about 1600 steep limestone islands and a number of caves to visit, too. some local communities live there permanently on rafts and mainly survive on seafood. The place has been declared a world heritage st 1994.
similar to so may other extraordinary sites it's smashing beauty is, at the time, its biggest handicap. thousands of tourists produce a high load of noise, pollution and disturbance. some insiders have recommended choosing the neighbouring bay as an alternative escape or go there in the middle of the winter, as we did.
HUE
HUE citadel incorporating the forbidden city [the emperor's palace built along the model of the same in PEKING] is the most visited touristic site in hue and offers the usual mix of temples and fortifications. visitors more interested in the vietnam of today will be compensated by a buy modern downtown with a vivid alternative life, too. HUE also has a university with a faculty of architecture and a certain specialization in climate resilient construction, since the region is highly exposed to hurricanes and other negative weather impacts.
HUE was the vietnamese capital until 1945, when HO CHI MINH established the socialist republic of vietnam replacing the japanese governers who had occupied the country during world war II. the returning french government - together with its western allies - did not acknowledge the vietnamese idependence which, in the geneva indochina conference 1954, resulted in the division of the country into a capitalist and a separate communist country in line with the german model. the political divide went hand-in-hand with a religeous battle between the catholic and the bhuddist priests which actually culminated in HUE with over 5,000 deaths.
vietnam was faster in achieving reunification of both parts in 1975.
DANANG
DA'NANG with more than one million inhabitants is one of vietnam's biggest city and, furthermore, benefits from its central location half-way between the two other big hubs hanoi and saigon. during the vietnam war, danang became the most busiest airport in the world, with about 2500 flights per day. the city was also very much liked by the american soldiers for its long and perfect beach where they could relax in-between bombarding the vietnamese enemy.
​we had been contacted by the danang planning office before travelling to vietnam, since they were looking for some help in solving the headake they had with their WATER PARK venture, which did not attract enough visitors to make the investment profitable. during our stay, we visited the venue but were not overwhelmed by inspiration and had to say 'sorry'. eventually we were given a different site to take home for a design project - while today no traces of the water park can be found on google maps on this precious piece of land.​
in the meantime, the coastline towards the south - the traditional burial grounds for danang's dead, is being urbanized for different holiday complexes to suit internation mass tourism.
MY SON
My son is the name of a former hindu temple dedicated to the goddess shiva. its more than 70 temples dating from the 4th to 14th century AD, already lost their importance in the 15th century when the area was conquered by the viet who had their own religion and culture.
The principle temples were restored by French arqueologists in 1937-38, but soon thereafter, the entire holy district was completed destroyed again by on one-week of heavy bombarding by the US troops in the vietnam war. in1999, UNESCO declared the location a world heritage site.
​​For visitors like us, there is very little to see from the ruins now mostly covered by weed. but since touristic movement mostly happens along the narrow coastline, the excursion offers an unexpected insight into rural life in the hinterlands. The fertile green landscape is marvelous, and offers a quiet break away from the busy life along coastline.
NHA TRANG
NHA TRANG was the only city we visited where we could admire some real informal settlements, though dispersed, like in latin america or africa. even parts of the formal city appear more irregular than elsewhere in the country. it could possibly be explained by less strict planning regulations or just less development policing - which would represent a progressive move in a socialist state.
NHA TRANG is another vietnamese coastal city which competes with danang and hue for plenty of beaches but offers additional advantages like the protected location against dangerous storms and tsunamis - apart from the relative proximity to the commercial hub ho chi minh city.
as all seaside resorts, Nha Trang feels deserted in off-season january, when we passed through.
the elitist flair of the past decades may still be felt in the NHA TRANG SUNRISE HOTEL, which still is located in the middle of the beach facing the city, while more and more 'international style' square hotel blocks are mushrooming up along the coast.
HO CHI MINH CITY
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HO CHI MINH CITY - or the old name SAIGON which is increasingly being used again - is the commercial hub of vietnam. it used to have a precious colonial centre which is rapidly being replaced by skyscrapers although there would be enough space very close on the other side of the river.
Pudong in Shanghai could even be used as a perfect blueprint. but presumably some influential decision makers opted for profit before culture: a real shame for the heritage lost.
A quick visit to the faculty of architecture showed us the other extreme. the entire class dedicated their day to nude drawing - even if in their upcoming professional life all their work will probably done on CAD anyway.
ME KONG DELTA
While we are worrying about rationalizing water supply in germany, there can hardly be any country that disposes of more than abundant water ressources - definitively a treasure to be kept for the future. while this is true for the entire country, the quota doubling or tripling in the mekong delta. here, the residents have adapted to the situation since generations: a great part of the food comes from the water, transportation happens on water etc. of course: the delta is not an ocean and there are patches of and in-between which can be cultivated for rice and where trees can grow which serve for construction and as fuel.
BRICK AND POTTERY RODUCTION
BRICK AND POTTERY RODUCTION
LOCAL FOOD PRODUCTION
LOCAL FOOD PRODUCTION
since the population is not artificially concentrated on standard [means: minimum] surfaces calculated by the square meter, there is no need for the residents to mark the boundaries for their privacy. the reaction is a much more public living situation which works both ways. when 80% of family life is public, there automatically is more communication with the community, or whoever happens to pass by. this is even better than a boring and repetitive TV program.
not all living utilities can be of vegetative origin - like pots for cooking for example. probably all cultures sooner or later discovered that mud can be burned in order to make it solid. therefore, it is quite normal to find pottery and brick factories along the mekong.
we had the chance to visit one brick factory on our way through the delta. they produce both, construction materials and pottery. for reasons of commercialization and ease of transport it was located on one the principal mekong branches.
Fishery is the most obvious food supply in the mekong delta - but the less expected detail is the high percentage of water snakes among the harvest. another product to be expected is rice - but this is not marketed in the corns as we know it from the supermarket, but to a large percentage processed into rice paper - the consumable wrapping material of the well known spring rolls. also brandy and liqueur is being brewed from rice as well as from all sorts of vegetables.
SHOPPING AND FRUIT MARKETS
vegetable and other food markets seem to be a universal phenomenon, and the most important variable is the choice of products on display. but the personalities, the voices of the sellers and the negotiation tempers give it a local touch.
snakes and eels are types of food most of us have heard about, but not necessarily tested yet. but horses, dogs, insects belong to those vietnamese specialities that not every visitor is keen try out.
there are no fixed boundaries between production, trade, preparation and serving food - the overriding concept is business: this is what asia is known for. also the boundaries between private and public space are flexible. walkways are by no means uneconomically reserved for pedestrians, but can be rented out as parking space, or transformed into an open air restaurant. but be careful: popular vietnamese are used to eat close to the ground. if not squatting, the next comfort level are very, very low stools a real challenge for someone who considered him or herself a civilized traveller.
FASHION
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