English Language Lesson

In 2010, Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, celebrates its 1000 th year of existence. However, archaeological evidence tells us that there have been people living on the site of present-day Hanoi for about 10,000 years. Hanoi has been influenced by a thousand years of Chinese rule, indigenous rule, French colonial rule, the American War, the Soviet era, and the current Doi Moi period. Currently, it is the political, economic and cultural center of the country.

Today’s Hanoi has a population of 3.1 million people. City planners imagine Hanoi to be in league with other major Asian cities and the Hanoi General Master Plan aims to develop the economy and society of the city. This Plan aims to accomplish three things: 1) encourage foreign investment, 2) make effective use of capital resources, and 3) improve economic conditions in the city. The economy has shown significant transformations where the policy of Doi Moi opened up the economy.*

This chapter will focus on urban planning. Students will consider issues having to do with the physical restoration, renovation, preservation and maintenance of historical and/or traditional buildings and neighborhoods of Vietnam with particular attention to the city of Hanoi.

First, let us consider some of the historical buildings.

*paraphrased from: Hanoi, Basil van Horen, Development Planning Program, School of Geography, Planning and Architecture, University of Queensland, QLD 4072, Australia, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V9W-4FY3DMY-4&_user=10&_coverDate=04%2F30%2F2005&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=8af2df3108a3847ff3cd4f400ad9ace9

Discussion: As a class or in small groups, look at the following pictures of buildings in Vietnam. Reflect on the importance these buildings have on your culture.

1. Do you recognize the six buildings below?
2. Are these buildings important? Why?
3. What part of Vietnamese history do these buildings represent?
4. In what ways are the architectural characteristics found on these buildings part of Vietnamese tradition or representing the Vietnamese people?
5. Using your artistic eye, are these buildings beautiful? What is beautiful or not so beautiful about them?
6. What is the value of these buildings—economically, politically, socially?

All the pictures above are from the Digital Imaging Project by Mary Ann Sullivan, Bluffton University, http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/

Further Discussion: The buildings below were built during the French Colonial Rule. Both of these buildings have undergone renovation. The renovation cost of the Municipal Theater in Hanoi ranges from $14 Million to $20 Million. The cost of the renovation for the Metropole in Hanoi could not be found.

7 Look at the pictures below and read the brief histories of the buildings. Do you think the cost of these renovations is justified or do you think that the millions of dollars used for these renovations could have been used in other ways?

Municipal Theater, Hanoi (former Opera House) French architect? 1901-11 Reopened after a $20 million refurbishing. French colonists in Vietnam wanted to enjoy the same leisure time activities in Asia that they had loved in France. This is a smaller version of the famous Opera House in Paris, built between 1857-74 and designed by Charles Garnier. It is still the largest theater in Vietnam, seating about 600 persons. Pavilions are domed at the end and a large vaulted space occupies the center of the structure. (See side views below.) Yellow seems to be the favored color of French colonial architecture in Vietnam. (from Mary Ann Sullivan’s website)

from http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm /

Considered a landmark even in its day, construction began on the Hanoi Opera House in 1901. It opened a decade later, the undeniable architectural treasure of all French Indochine. However, the hall fell into disrepair during the extended isolation that followed the dispatch of both French colonists and the Americans. During the decades afterwards, Russian and Chinese artists came to teach ballet and opera. But the end of the Cold War curtailed even those meager artistic exchanges. By the 1990s, the opera house remained darkened. A chance glance at an airport advertisement by a Parisian architect passing through Asia brought the opera house back to life. Vietnamese native Ho Thieu Tri was changing planes in Hong Kong. Promotional pictures piqued his interest in seeing the homeland he left in 1975. On a whim, he changed his ticket. Soon after, touring Hanoi with an old friend, he spied the run-down theater. "The Opera House had a perfect architectural design," he recalled later. Tri instantly decided to stay on and oversee restoration of the landmark to its former "elegance and magnificence." The three-year project cost US$14 million. Reopened in 1997, the opera house remains an almost mythical landmark to Vietnamese, who marvel at the amount of money spent, but bristle with pride over a building that has come to symbolize what is increasingly recognized as Asia's most charming capital city.(by Ron Gluckman, http://www.gluckman.com/Opera.htm )

from http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm /

from: http://www.famoushotels.org/article/651

Excerpt from: The Metropole: Hanoi's Living History Museum http://www.thingsasian.com/stories-photos/2232 Though the hotel's fortunes have certainly ebbed and flowed over the years, it has nonetheless remained true to itself through ten decades, five name changes and three wars. In colonial times the Metropole became known as the finest hotel in French Indochina, the region of Southeast Asia that includes present-day Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The reputation of the Metropole spread beyond the boundaries of Indochina, however, for many reckoned that the hotel rivaled such famous British colonial lodgings as Raffles in Singapore and the E&O in Penang-a distinction it retains to the present day. During the Second World War, Japanese officers used the Metropole as an upscale barracks. The hotel-like Hanoi itself-returned to French management at the end of the conflict. A decade later the newly formed communist government of North Vietnam took possession of the hotel after the defeat of French colonial forces in 1954. It is perhaps a measure of the reverence and respect accorded to the Metropole that the revolutionary government left the hotel largely as it was and used it as an official guesthouse for visiting VIPs. Only the name changed. Indeed, the government changed so many names after the French defeat that maps of Hanoi became completely useless. In the case of the Metropole, the hotel morphed into the Thong Nhat (Reunification Hotel) on the newly renamed Ngo Quyen Street, formerly Henri Riviere Street. The darkest days for the Metropole fell during what the Vietnamese call the American War (1965-75). Like the rest of Hanoi, the hotel suffered the privations of the war years as the nation's resources poured down the Ho Chi Minh Trail and into the meat grinders of Khe Sanh, A Shau and Cu Chi. The resultant lack of maintenance and paying guests caused the Metropole to fall into disrepair. As guests became increasingly scarce in the hotel's rooms, rats became ever more common. Gastronomic standards plummeted as well, though the hotel chefs still offered the modest roster of guests-foreign journalists, peace activists and diplomats-far better fare than what the average Hanoian subsisted on. In all other respects the hotel staff and guests shared Hanoi's suffering. The Metropole stood less than two miles from the Long Bien Bridge, which the U.S. military became obsessed with destroying. During repeated bombing raids against the bridge and other strategic targets across the city, American aircraft consistently hit civilian areas with errant bombs. Consequently the hotel had to build its own air-raid shelter for its guests and staff, who spent more than one night huddled underground as the bombs fell close enough to shake the entire bunker. In the 1980s Vietnam began pursuing liberal economic policies-a program known as doi moi-and as a result the long-neglected Metropole got a new lease on life. This came in the form of a partnership between the government-which still owned the building-and the French Accor Group, which agreed to restore and run the hotel. In 1992 a revamped Metropole opened its doors for business. The rats were long gone, though guests occasionally looked up to see a bat flitting along the ceiling and down a hallway with all the confidence of a moneyed guest. The restored Metropole remains faithful to its original French colonial character. The main building still sports its trademark green shutters and classic white facade; the hotel rooms still feature the original hardwood floors and graceful high ceilings. The hotel's classic good taste continues to flourish-female staff flow past in their elegant ao dai, fresh flowers adorn tables and counters, and chambermaids offer a nightly turn-down service complete with late-night bon-bons. A vintage Citroen touring car rests by the front doors, ready to carry guests off on a nostalgia trip to old Indochina. As the only colonial hotel in Hanoi the Metropole stands in a class of its own. The century-old Metropole and the city's brand-new luxury hotels come from different eras and offer different things-an age-refined sophistication versus a glitzy contemporary brashness, an antique aura versus ultramodern efficiency, and a nostalgic dose of the past versus a head-spinning view of the future. Guests can decide for themselves which hotel experience they prefer, but judging from the long-standing popularity of the Metropole, many prefer its turn of the century elegance and historic ambience. Indeed, it is this very mix of history and high quality-not to mention a well-regarded bar-that has attracted a slew of famous writers to the Metropole. William Somerset Maugham, Marguerite Duras and Bertrand Russell all put pen to paper there. Graham Greene wrote portions of The Quiet American while staying at the Metropole. In an interesting historical twist, the actor Michael Caine recently lodged at the hotel while filming a movie adapted from Greene's novel. Ironically, however, both the movie and the book are set in Saigon.

For Further Discussion: Now look at some more pictures. These are pictures of places that people live and work. Some of these places are old and belong to history but are used today. Like many places in Vietnam, these places are undergoing change. They are parts of urban centers that economically, politically, and socially are transforming.

	To what extent do these places need to change for sustainability? What needs to be preserved? What needs to be modernized? What types of political problems do you expect? What issues can arise from development?

Vocabulary Words & Exercises: The Urban Landscape

Here is a map of 36 Streets in Hanoi. On either side of the map are words that describe spaces on the map or concepts that have to do with urban planning. Most of these words and their definitions can be found in the Appendix labeled: Glossary: Urban Design. Are you able to describe directions? For example, can you tell someone how to get from Long Bien Bridge to the Lake of the Returned Sword?

Explanation of Reading Study Skill A (Academic Reading Skill):

Notes by Leonardo Da Vinci Images and words are found in the notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci. These notes helped him make his thoughts visible and helped him make sense of the ideas in his head. Notes are a tool for learning and for shaping ideas as these notebooks show. It appears that Da Vinci created and used a form of Cornell Note taking as is illustrated by this page (left) taken from one of his journals. Like Leonardo Da Vinci, students should devise a note taking method that helps him or her to learn and to make visible the ideas he or she carries in their head. http://www.englishcompanion.com/pdfDocs/davincinotes.pdf

Tips for Taking Notes from Academic Readings. There are several reasons why students take notes from readings: like Leonardo da Vinci’s notes, student notes can make visible what one is learning and serve as a motivational tool for studying. Taking notes will help students focus on the reading and extend their attention span. Notes taken efficiently can help students read with more understanding.

The act of note-taking will help students to remember what they have read because students learn more effectively when they use multiple senses and multiple activities. And, when gathering data and information for writing a research paper, good note-taking can help organize their ideas and arrange topics into easy-to-find pieces of information that are clear and at one’s fingertips.

Review: Two Forms of Note-taking : In previous levels and chapters, and in the Listening and Speaking and Writing Sections of this chapter, we have focused on two forms of Note-taking: The Outline and the Cornell Note-taking System. Though we are aware that each student will devise their own system for note-taking, it is suggested that these methods may be of help to some students.

Reading Outline

Take reading notes using an outline that follows North American patterns of academic writing: (1) give an introduction that presents the main idea, (2) supports the main idea with information and examples, and (2) conclude the reading by bringing resolution to the information that has been presented in the reading.

Date of your Note-taking Bibliographic Information: (Title, Author, Publisher, Website, Date, Page, Etc.) I. Introduction (the main idea of the reading): A. Support 1. Example/Detail 2. Example/Detail 3. Example/Detail B. Support 1. Example/Detail 2. Example/Detail 3. Example/Detail C. Support 1. Example/Detail 2. Example/Detail 3. Example/Detail

II. Body: A. Support 1. Example/Detail 2. Example/Detail 3. Example/Detail B. Support 1. Example/Detail 2. Example/Detail 3. Example/Detail C. Support 1. Example/Detail 2. Example/Detail 3. Example/Detail

III. Conclusion: A. Support 1. Example/Detail 2. Example/Detail 3. Example/Detail B. Support 1. Example/Detail 2. Example/Detail 3. Example/Detail C. Support 1. Example/Detail 2. Example/Detail 3. Example/Detail

The Cornell Note Taking System

The note taking paper is divided into two columns. In the right wider column (see below), the student writes down information from the reading. In the left narrower column the student writes words, phrases, jottings, paraphrases and summaries that help the student remember the reading and apply it to his/her understanding of the subject.

Again, it is important to understand that in North American styles of learning, it is far more important to be able to explain the subject in one’s own words rather than memorizing the material.

-------2-1/2” or 6 cm ----------	-------6 “ or 15 cm -------------------------------------
Reduce ideas and facts to concise jottings and summaries as cues for Reciting, Reviewing, and Reflecting.	Record the lecture as fully and as meaningfully as possible
The format provides the perfect opportunity for following through with the 5 R's of note-taking. Here they are: 1. Record. Record notes in the main column--as many meaningful facts and ideas as you can. Write legibly. 2. Reduce. As soon after as possible, summarize these ideas and facts concisely in the Recall Column. Summarizing clarifies meanings and relationships, reinforces continuity, and strengthens memory. Also, it is a way of preparing for examinations gradually and well ahead of time. 3. Recite. Now cover the column, using only your jottings in the Recall Column as cues or "flags" to help you recall, say over facts and ideas of the lecture as fully as you can, not mechanically, but in your own words and with as much appreciation of the meaning as you can. Then, uncovering your notes, verify what you have said. This procedure helps to transfer the facts and ideas of your long term memory. 4. Reflect. Reflective students distill their opinions from their notes. They make such opinions the starting point for their own musings upon the subjects they are studying. Such musings aid them in making sense out of their courses and academic experiences by finding relationships among them. Reflective students continually label and index their experiences and ideas, put them into structures, outlines, summaries, and frames of reference. They rearrange and file them. Best of all, they have an eye for the vital-for the essential. Unless ideas are placed in categories, unless they are taken up from time to time for re-examination, they will become inert and soon forgotten. 5. Review. If you will spend 10 minutes every week or so in a quick review of these notes, you will retain most of what you have learned, and you will be able to use your knowledge currently to greater and greater effectiveness.

How do you make your notes effective? Is the information that you’ve gathered useful for your purposes? How do you find the important points from the reading? How do you avoid plagiarizing, and are you comfortable with how to quote and cite someone else’s work? Here are some tips that can guide you in note-taking:

Tip #1: Use your skimming and scanning skills. What is structure of the reading material? If you are familiar with the structure, then you know where to look for the ideas or information that you are researching. For example, if you know that the structure of the reading follows the familiar outline format, you have clues as to where to find the information you are seeking from the reading. Skim the headings and contents or index and look for the parts that are relevant to your research or topic.

Tip #2: Know what kind of ideas you need to record from the reading. Are you reading to gain general understanding on a topic or are you in search of specific information and/or support for a topic you’ll be writing about? Read with purpose—a specific topic or focus—and then you’ll be able to sort out the relevant ideas. Are you reading facts, theories or opinions?

Tip #3: Evaluate the information that you find. How reliable and credible is the information you are gathering? Check the date of publication and make sure you are not using out-of-date information. Check the publisher and the perspective of the author. It is very easy to put something on the internet, for example, so find out the credibility and/or bias of those that produce the information.

Tip #4: Don’t write down too much. Summarize. Write down the main ideas in your own words. Focus on the general ideas and do not copy down details. Your notes should be a record of the concepts and ideas of other sources. These ideas applied to your own thinking show the highest form of learning the material. If you are taking notes for purposes of research, you want your writing to be an expression of your own thinking. So your notes should be an integration of ideas found in readings with your own ideas.

Copy the exact words only when the words are quotable—that is, the author writes about an idea in a memorable way worth quoting. Use direct quotes when the original words from the author are expressed in a powerful or memorable way or when it is important to provide evidence supporting your interpretation of what is said by the author. Quotes should be kept to a minimum—less than 10% of your written work. Create labels and headings that identify the concepts clearly and quickly.

To be more specific for how to take notes follow these steps as described online (Making Effective Notes*):

Skim read to determine how much of the passage is relevant to your work. Take a fresh sheet of paper (or a new computer document) and write a single word or phrase which represents the topic covered in the passage. It's best if this is one of the keywords/phrases identified in the mind-mapping stage of your information plan (see Chapter 2). Skim through the article to get the meaning of what the author is saying. Read through a small section, for example, from one sub-heading to another, or even one paragraph, without writing anything down. Stop reading, and consider the meaning of what the author has said. In your own words, write a sentence which summarizes that section. Only look back to the passage if there are facts or technical terms you need to copy. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you are through the passage.

Tip #4: Label your notes with bibliographic information on a consistent basis. The source of your notes should not be a mystery. Label your notes clearly: these notes come from this book written by this author; these notes come from this journal or magazine and cite the date and pages; this set of notes comes from this website; etc. You should give credit to people who have ideas that you are using. You should also be able to locate the information again if you need it.

Sources:
Taking Notes from Research Readingby Dr. Margaret Procter, Coordinator, Writing Support, University of Toronto http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/notes.html.

*Making Effective Notes, http://www.allenandunwin.com/estudy/takingnotes.asp

 

---

 

Exercises and Activities for Skill A:

In this chapter, there are three articles about renovations in the 36 Streets Area of Hanoi in this chapter. One is below—“ Hanoi Architecture: Some Observations by a Local and a Tourist”—and the other can be found in the IC3 Section— “ Urban Growth Threatens Heritage of Vietnam's Capital.” The third article, “ The Ancient Quarter of Hanoi – A Reflection of Urban Transition Processes,”can be found after the IC3 Section in the Taking It Further Section.

Students are to take notes from these articles using the note-taking systems described above.

Note-taking should focus on the following question: What are the general issues facing city planners and architects working to sustain and renovate the 36 Streets Area of Hanoi? You may choose to make this question more specific if you wish; for example, you may ask “What are the social issues facing city planners and architects . . .?”

Students are to imagine that they are going to write a paper on this topic and take notes accordingly. After they have taken the notes, students are to write a summary or outline that identifies three issues that these city planners and architects are facing.

Students should prepare their notes and summary to turn into their teacher.

Reading :  

Hanoi Architecture: Some Observations By A Local And A Tourist

Dinh Quoc Phuong, Derham Groves(Authors are from the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne.)http://www.webjournal.unior.it/Dati/18/58/6.%20Hanoi.pdf.

1. Introduction 1

1. Hanoi’s 36 Streets.

Vietnamese architect Dinh Quoc Phuong has lived in Hanoi for most of his life, and Australian architect Derham Groves has so far visited Hanoi three times. They love the city but fear for its future in light of what seems to be uncontrolled local development and insensitive foreign development.

As simple as it may sound, they believe that the first step to preserving Hanoi’s unique sense of place is to observe the city’s built environment. The following article contains some of authors’ observations of Hanoi’s architecture and everyday life with respect to the past, the present and the future.

2. Appreciating the Past

The retail centre of Hanoi is the historical triangular-shaped district known as the 36 Streets, which is bounded by the Red River to the northeast, the old citadel (now an historical landmark) to the west, and Hoan Kiem or Returned Sword Lake to the south. Most people believe this district originally had 36phoor streets (although there are far more streets there now), hence its name. However, Barbara Cohen suggests that the number 36 was more symbolic: three plus six equals nine, an auspicious number in Vietnamese culture. 2

Originally, each street in the 36 Streets was home to a different Phuong or trade guild, which was reflected by the name of the street. For example, in Hang Bun or Rice Noodle Street the residents made and sold rice noodles, in Hang Non or Hat Street the residents made and sold conical bamboo hats, etc. Some streets continue to specialize in this fashion, but not as strictly as in the past.

There are two popular theories that explain why the first residents of the 36 Streets settled there. Hoang Dao Thuy suggests that under the Tran dynasty (15 th century), many skilled craftsmen left their native villages to work at the Royal Court. When some of them fell out-of-favor with the King, they moved to the 36 Streets and set up shop. 3

On the other hand, Nguyen Khac Dam 4 and Andre Masson 5believe the 36 Streets was initially a marketplace. Once a week craftsmen from surrounding villages came to this district to sell their goods. Those from the same village built their stalls next to each other. When they realized that it would be a lot more profitable and convenient to open every day, they gradually replaced their temporary stalls with permanent shop-houses. The fact that Hanoi used to be called Ke Cho or Big Market seems to support this particular theory.

2. A village gate in the 36 Streets.

In either case, the craftsmen and traders who came to Hanoi brought their village culture and customs with them. As a result, some buildings characteristic of traditional Vietnamese village life, such as the dinh or communal house, the chua or village pagoda, and the cong lang or village gate, were introduced in the city from about this time. Usually there was a village gate built at both ends of a street by the members of the appropriate trade guild, who also often built a communal house and a village pagoda for the community.

3. Hoan Kiem Lake

In our opinion, the best way to sense the authentic character of Hanoi is to take a walk around the 36 Streets. The city’s street life nourishes its sense of place. A new day often starts early. People wakeup around five a.m. Businesses open at six a.m., but close late. People venture out into the streets to pursue all kinds of activities. They buy sticky rice with pork or Vietnamese-French bread rolls or beef noodles from the food shops and street vendors, then sit nearby on the footpath to eat. A woman in a conical bamboo hat carries two baskets of food on a pole over her shoulder. People sit on small stools at low tables leisurely sipping coffee or tea inside an old-fashioned Vietnamese-style coffee shop. None of the city’s growing number of modern Western-style bars and pubs can match this coffee shop’s unique ambience. Not far away, a craftsman carves a name on a gravestone. His family has practiced this trade for generations. An elderly man rests against a display cabinet in front of his old French-style house. A man parks his old Vespa motor scooter on the footpath, blocking people’s way. Certainly, all of the hustle and bustle of the 36 Streets reinforces the feeling of a marketplace. Ironically, Hanoi’s busiest area is located next to the city’s most peaceful spot. The serene landscape of Hoan Kiem Lake, rendered by the curved roofs of ancient pagodas under the greenery of many trees, provides leisure spaces and quiet moments for everyone. Groups of old men sit around playing Chinese chess on the pavements. Students converge on the lakeside lawns after school to chat and snack. The secluded tracks around the lake make perfect rendezvous for young couples to ‘make out’. The juxtaposition of the 36 Streets and Hoam Kiem Lake, the hectic beside the tranquil, is a good example of the many stark contrasts to be found in Hanoi’s built environment.

The urban form of the 36 Streets was largely created by two-storey shop-houses. Initially, traditional Vietnamese shop-houses consisted of three gian or compartments in a row. However, to reduce the cost of a tax imposed on the width of a shop-house started from 19 th century, the left and right compartments were eliminated. A typical one-compartment shop-house is approximately three meters wide at the front and living spaces behind. Consequently, they became popularly known as ‘tube-houses’.

A good example and up to 60 meters deep, with a shop e is the late 19 th century shop-house at 44 Hang Can Street. It was originally a pen shop, but over the years it has also been a green tea merchant’s, an agency for Shell Oil, a convenience store, and currently a grocery shop, illustrating the versatility of this building form. The shop-house is three meters wide and 36 meters long. Occupying the front of the building on the ground floor is a shop measuring three meters wide and seven meters long. During business hours, the front of the shop is open practically from side to side, and after business hours, it is closed with vertical timber planks. Behind the shop are a courtyard with a staircase to the first floor, a storeroom for groceries (originally a living room), a bathroom, another courtyard containing a water tank, a kitchen (once a storeroom for green tea) with another staircase leading to an outdoor space on the first floor, an unused room (originally a kitchen), another open air courtyard, and two toilets.

4. Shop-house at 44 Hang Can Street.

On the first floor (going from front and, to back) there is an unused room (probably originally a bedroom), a corridor next to a light well overlooking the courtyard below, a living room, a second living room (originally used for ancestor worship), a third living room with a ladder leading to a Buddhist prayer room above, a light well over the bathroom and the water tank, an outdoor space used for clothes drying and growing plants in pots, an unused room (originally a living room), and a void above the open air courtyard on the first floor.

The shop-house is basically sound but generally run down and in need of repair. The roof is clad with terracotta tiles. Interestingly, in the past, gold and other valuables were hidden between the roof and the ceiling. The sidewalls of the shop-house are made of rendered brickwork. The internal walls and the original fixtures, such as the staircases, are made of timber. As mentioned earlier, shop-houses like this one were largely responsible for creating the architectural character of the 36 Streets that is beloved by locals and tourists alike, but they are becoming increasingly scarce. 4. Shop-house at 44 Hang Can Street.

 

3. Pressures of the Present

The above description of 44 Hang Can Street indicates that traditional Vietnamese two-storey shop-houses have an abundance of space. In fact, in the recent past it was very common for several families to jointly own and occupy only one old shop-house. For example, between 1954 and 1998 five families lived together in the late 19 th century shop-house at 87 Ma May Street, which has now been fully restored under the Preservation and Renovation of Hanoi Ancient Quarter program. Often these old shop-houses remained, albeit in a run down condition, because the joint owners could not agree on a path of action.

Many individuals who have prospered under doi moi (the opening up of Vietnam’s economy) can now afford to buy these jointly owned shop-houses. What they tend to do is demolish the old two-storey building and construct a four, five or even six storey shop-house in its place. The dramatic increase in the height of shop-houses is one of the most interesting and significant changes to the built environment in Hanoi (and, indeed, in other cities in Vietnam as well) over the last ten years or so.

Ironically, far fewer people usually live in these new taller shop-houses: generally the size of the building is not about necessity, but about expressing wealth. Perhaps for the same reason, many new shop-houses have an ornately designed prayer room for ancestor worship on the top floor, which is totally different in style to the rest of the shop-house. Consequently, the 36 Streets no longer resembles the famous paintings by Hanoi artist Bui Xuan Phai showing two-storey shop-houses with graceful gables forming beautiful roof-scapes.

A good example of the new tall shop-houses being built in Hanoi is the six-storey shop-house at 140 Nguyen Trai Street, which was built in the late 1990s.

5. Shop-house at 87 Ma May Street.	6. Hanoi Ancient Street by Bui Xuan Phai

Another good example of the new tall shop-houses being built in Hanoi is the six-storey shop-house at 140 Nguyen Trai Street, which was built in the late 1990s. At the front of the building on the ground floor is a three-metre wide shop for selling biscuits and chocolates. The counters, the shelves and the stock stacked on the floor take up most of the floor space. Behind the shop is a staircase that goes up through the entire building, essentially dividing it in half. Behind the staircase is a large storeroom full of stock.

7. Shop-house at 140 Nguyen Trai Street.

On the first floor (once again going from front to back) there is a balcony, a bedroom half-full of biscuits and chocolates in cardboard boxes, the staircase, the dining room, and the kitchen. On the second floor there is a balcony, a bedroom, a bathroom, the staircase, and another bedroom with an en suite. This layout is also repeated on the third and fourth floors. On the fifth floor there is a balcony, a bedroom used by the driver employed by the shop, a toilet, the staircase, and a prayer room for ancestor worship. In case one of the shopkeeper’s small children falls down the stairwell, he has strung a homemade spider web-like net from the balusters at several different floors. On the sixth floor there is a roofed outdoor space used for drying clothes and recreational activities like gardening in pots and playing table tennis. There is also a concrete water tank at the rear.

It appears that the owners of these new shop-houses are looking beyond the purity of local-style architecture and the prestige of foreign-style architecture in preference for a combined approach to shop-house design. The most obvious feature of many new shop-houses is the popularity of French-style architecture, particularly of the period when Vietnam was under French control. This is ironic, to say the least, given the enormous sacrifices the Vietnamese made to oust the French. The positive publicity for old French-colonial buildings in the Hanoi media, especially, no doubt plays a significant role in influencing people’s perceptions of what is architecturally desirable. There certainly appears to be a strong connection between notions of wealth and this type of architecture.

Therefore, many clients ask their architects to design shop-houses with French-style facades. Fortunately, most architects have their own unique interpretations of French-style, so the new shop-houses are varied in appearance. For example, they might be different colors and have different architectural details and decorations, even though they spring from the same ideological source. What is apparent is that the so-called ‘French-style’ has been sufficiently transformed to create a distinct contemporary local architecture.

9. A Soviet-style apartment building.	8. French-style shop-houses in Hanoi.

Likewise, the 5-storey Soviet-style apartment buildings in Hanoi, designed between 1950 and 1980 by Russian architects or Russian-educated Vietnamese architects, have experienced significant form changes as a direct result of the improved social and economic circumstances of their inhabitants. In particular, extra rooms have been added to the front and back of the buildings. On the ground floor, rooms added in front usually function as shops or workshops, enabling people to work from home, while those added at the back are more frequently used for domestic activities, such as drying clothes, gardening in pots, keeping chickens in cages, and parking motorcycles. On the upper floors, the front and rear balconies are extended and enclosed to create extra rooms. The overall effect is to soften and individualize these otherwise severe-looking buildings, which in turn has a positive impact on the sense of place of the surrounding urban areas. Interestingly, the apartment buildings’ new modified form reminds many people of the familiar pattern of rows of shop-houses.

4. Looking Toward the Future

10. The 25 designs on display in Hanoi.

11. Existing Parliament House.

The above discussion about shop-houses in Hanoi raises several important general issues facing architects working in Vietnam today. These include deciding whether to preserve old buildings or to construct new ones in their place, choosing between a western view of architecture or a local traditional one, and designing new buildings that complement their surroundings rather than clash with them. Some of these issues, but on a grander scale, also confronted the 25 architectural firms that entered the competition to design a new Vietnamese Parliament House in Hanoi. It was to consist of two main buildings: a National Assembly House and a Conference Hall. Some Vietnamese firms worked alone, while others collaborated with overseas firms. An international panel of experts assessed the 25 designs before short-listing two Vietnamese-French entries and one Vietnamese-German entry that ultimately won the competition.

In 2003, the 25 new Parliament House designs went on display to the general public in a large exhibition hall in Hanoi. The chief aim was to gauge people’s reactions to the designs. Around 1800 people visited the exhibition each day, indicating a high level of interest. Upon entering the hall visitors were handed a form on which to write their views about the schemes. An area with tables and chairs was even specially set aside for this.

The site for the new Parliament House presented some tricky problems with regard to architectural context. For one thing, the existing 1960s Soviet-style Parliament House occupied a corner of the site, and the competition entrants had to decide for themselves whether to keep or demolish it. The competition guidelines clearly stated that if the old building was to be retained, then it should harmonize with the new one. About half of the entrants kept the old building, but most of them effectively ignored it in their final designs.  

While the authors of this article were at the exhibition, the question of whether the existing Parliament House should be kept or not was being hotly debated by several groups of visitors. We were even drawn into one of these discussions by two Vietnamese architects who invited us to comment on one of the short-listed schemes that retained the old building. We explained that what bothered us about this design was the lack of connection between the rectangular form of the old Parliament House and the circular form of the new one. On the other hand, another scheme that had also retained the old Parliament House appeared to work quite well to us. The architects had put a new mirror image of the old building on the opposite side of the site and the rest of the new Parliament House in between these two buildings.

Another complexity that the competition entrants had to cope with was the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum adjacent the new Parliament House site. On one hand, people do early morning exercises nearby the mausoleum. The footpaths are crowded with joggers. Old folks practice tai chi and yoga. Younger adults jump rope. Kids play badminton. By the same token, the mausoleum containing the body of the ‘father’ of modern Vietnam is one of the most revered places in Hanoi. This is another example of the stark contrasts to be found in Hanoi, mentioned earlier.

Looking at the new Parliament House designs, it was clear that many competition entrants found designing a building that was a significant landmark on one hand, yet did not eclipse the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum on the other, very difficult to achieve. The Soviet-style scheme that most people correctly guessed was designed by the Vietnamese Research Institute of Architecture (the names of the designers were not revealed to the general public) may not have been very fashionable, but neither would it have looked out of place opposite the austere mausoleum. Perhaps as to be expected, many entrants resorted to clichés. A number of designs featured a Vietnamese-style curved roof. The Vietnamese flag – a yellow star on a red background – inspired a number of others.

Two of the short-listed schemes featured a circular form. We spoke to Nguyen Duc Vien, a young Vietnamese architect who had worked on one of these schemes, who explained that it graphically symbolized a traditional Vietnamese drum. He also pointed out that his firm’s design also featured a square form that symbolised a Vietnamese cake traditionally eaten at important meetings. Furthermore, the circular drum form also represented heaven and the square cake form also represented earth. The interior design of the National Assembly House was based on the Vietnamese flag. It also featured quotations and statues of Ho Chi Minh. According to Vien, the design team carefully considered the views of the building from all directions, especially from the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

However, the President of the Vietnamese Association of Architects, Professor Nguyen Truc Luyen, who was also one of the judges of the competition, stated that none of the 25 entries completely satisfied the design requirements, and even the winning Vietnamese-German scheme ‘was not momentous enough to represent the Vietnamese image of architecture’. In late 2003, a detailed archaeological survey of the new Parliament House site was undertaken. To everyone’s surprise, the archaeologists discovered five layers of earlier settlements dated from 11 th century. They include the remains of an ancient imperial citadel. Given the site’s unexpected historical significance, the Vietnamese government was under-pressure to find another site for the new Parliament House seven kilometers away. This may have been a blessing in disguise, because it is 10 times bigger than the old site with far fewer contextual problems.

The Vietnamese government invited the German architecture firm, GMP International, which had won the new Parliament House competition, to submit a different scheme for the new site. GMP International ended up designing four alternatives: one represented a conical bamboo hat; two, a lotus flower; three, a wave (which could mean either literally a wave or a trend); and four, the star on the Vietnamese flag. In early 2004, the four schemes were displayed as before. Professor Luyen was surprised by the highly symbolic designs, because he had expected GMP International to take a far more functional approach. 6 Many other architects also declared they were unconvinced by the designs’ simplistic symbolism. However, by and large, the general public liked the new designs. Presumably one of these schemes will go ahead.

5. Conclusion

The authors of this article believe that taking an empirical view of the built environment, as represented by the above ‘snapshots’ of Hanoi, will lead to a better understanding of what is happening on the ground by architects, builders, planners, and urban designers. In our opinion, this fundamental approach to the built environment should be the beginning of the design and policy-making process.

More specifically, we conclude that Hanoi’s unique sense of place remains remarkably resilient, despite the tremendous pressures for change. Take the Vietnamese shop-house for example. While it has become a lot taller, largely as a result of foreign money boosting the Vietnamese economy, the shop-house’s basic footprint has remained the same. The important thing is that the grain of the city has not been lost. Another example is the evolution of the Soviet-style apartment block. The ad hoc addition of shops, workshop and rooms has almost transformed this alien building type into a familiar local architectural form. Interestingly, many of the problems facing architects working in Hanoi today are the same for both domestic and monumental scale work, as the development of the 36 Streets and the design of a new Parliament House illustrate. However, the new Parliament House competition highlighted the universal tensions between popular architectural identity and the architectural profession.

References

Cohen 1994	B. Cohen, Hanoi’s Old Quarter: The 36 Streets , in “Things Asia: Experiences though the Eyes of Travelers”, <www.thingsasian.com/storiesphotos/1001/939036/6/con0_oth>, originally published as Hanoi’s Old Quarter in “Destination: Vietnam Magazine”, September/October 1994, San Francisco.
Hoang 2003	N. Hoang, Selecting an Architectural Proposal for Ba Dinh Political Centre, in “Vnexpress News” <vtnam/Xahoi/2003/02/3B9C55C1>.
Hung, Thong 1995	T. Hung, N.Q. Thong, Thang Long – Hanoi: Ten Centuries of Urbanization, Hanoi, 1995.
Khac Dam 1998	Khac Dam, Citadel, Streets and People of Hanoi in History, [in Vietnamese], Hanoi, 1998.
Masson 1983	A. Masson, The Transformation of Hanoi, 1873-1888, Madison, 1983.
Phe, Nishimura 2000	Hang Huu Phe, Yukio Nishimura, The Historical Environment and Housing Conditions in the ‘36 Old Streets’ Quarter of Hanoi, in T. D. Luan, H. Schenk (eds.), Shelter and Living in Hanoi 1, Hanoi, 2000, 10-56

Photographic references Research Institute on Architecture (1); Hung, Thong (2); Nguyen (4); Nguyen (7); Delaunay (9); Hung, Thong (11).

1. The authors in Hanoi obtained the research materials for this article.
2. Cohen 1994.
3. Phe, Nishimura 2000, 20.
4. Khac Dam, 1998, 118.
5. Masson 1983, 108.
6. Hoang 2003

Back to Top

 

Vietnamese Language Lesson

The following article describes the pre-reform Vietnamese economy and the preliminary achievements that resulted from the Doi Moi policy implementation in 1986.

Cải Cách Kinh Tế Ở Việt Nam  

Trích l ược từ bài viết “Kinh Tế Việt Nam Từ Đổi Mới Đến Hội Nhập” của đồng tác giả Phạm Đỗ Chí và Phạm Quang Diệu từ trang web http://hoithao.viet-studies.org/2005_ChiDieu_1.pdf vào ngày 27 tháng năm năm 2007

Hệ thống kế hoạch hoá tập trung trước “Đổi Mới”

Việt Nam đã theo cơ chế kế hoạch hoá tập trung kiểu Liên xô từ 1975 cho cả hai miền Bắc và Nam cho đến 1986, trong đó hệ thống kinh tế bị quản lý cao độ. Khu vực nông nghiệp rộng lớn bị tập thể hoá thành các hợp tác xã sản xuất và phân phối. Các doanh nghiệp Nhà nước phải thực hiện theo những chỉ thị của Trung ương. Các doanh nghiệp này phải chuyển những khoản tiền định trước hàng năm vào ngân sách, bất kể kết quả tài chính của doanh nghiệp, và thường phải vay ngân hàng để tài trợ cho các hoạt động thường xuyên.

Trái với khu vực doanh nghiệp Nhà nước trì trệ dưới những chỉ thị kế hoạch hoá, kinh nghiệm tồn tại của khu vực phi hình thức và các thị trường song song đã làm cho Việt Nam sớm thừa nhận kế hoạch hoá tập trung đã không vận hành tốt. Sự thừa nhận này đã được củng cố thêm nhờ hiệu ứng "giới thiệu thành tựu" của các nền kinh tế láng giềng Đông Á theo định hướng thị trường tăng trưởng nhanh.

Những kết quả cải cách kinh tế chủ yếu

Trong bước đầu, Việt Nam đã bắt đầu quá trình cải cách bằng tự do hoá giá và thương mại, cả trong thị trường nội địa lẫn trong các giao dịch quốc tế. Nhờ đó, những quyết định sản xuất, tiêu dùng và đầu tư của các tác nhân kinh tế ngày càng dựa trên các tín hiệu của thị trường. Tiếp theo, là những cải cách có tính hệ thống để chuyển cơ chế quản lý kinh tế sang hệ thống dựa trên thị trường. Những cải cách này đã phi tập thể hoá khu vực nông nghiệp và đề cao hộ gia đình như là đơn vị sản xuất cơ sở, tăng quyền tự chủ lớn hơn cho các doanh nghiệp Nhà nước, và khuyến khích hội nhập nhiều hơn vào nền kinh tế thế giới. Đồng thời khu vực tư nhân quy mô nhỏ nhưng rộng lớn đang có đã phản ứng mạnh để tăng đầu tư và cơ hội buôn bán, và bù lại mức suy giảm sản xuất do cầu nhập khẩu từ khối các nước Đông Âu biến mất.

Đối diện với những thách thức và cần thiết của chuyển đổi hệ thống để tiến tới một nền kinh tế thị trường và ổn định tài chính để khôi phục các cân bằng kinh tế vĩ mô, những cố gắng cải cách từ 1989 đã mang lại nhiều tiến bộ đáng kể, đến nay đã thiết lập được những phần tử cơ bản của hệ thống kinh tế thị trường, bao gồm: (i) hệ thống giá cả tự do; (ii) khu vực tư nhân năng động hơn; (iii) chế độ ngoại thương mở cửa rộng rãi; và (iv) hoà nhập các hoạt động kinh tế phi hình thức rộng lớn vào các luồng của thị trường chính thức dựa trên luật pháp.

Cũng trong giai đoạn này, mở cửa ra thế giới bên ngoài của Việt Nam đã định hướng lại luồng ngoại thương từ khối Đông Âu sang khu vực đồng tiền chuyển đổi. Các luồng ngoại thương tăng lên cũng kéo theo bùng nổ đầu tư trực tiếp nước ngoài và viện trợ quốc tế. Kết quả là cho đến nay Việt Nam đã tích luỹ được dự trữ ngoại tệ ở mức cần thiết so với gần như không có trước cải cách.

Questions: Answer the following questions:

1) Theo nội dung bài viết, mô hình sản xuất kinh tế (nông nghiệp, doanh nghiệp) được thực hiện ra sao trước khi chính sách đổi mới kinh tế được thông qua?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2) Nguyên nhân nào khiến Việt Nam sớm thực hiện công cuộc cải cách?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3) Hãy nêu những kết quả chủ yếu của công cuộc cải cách kinh tế?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4) Bạn nghĩ gì về đường lối kinh tế của Việt Nam hiện nay?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back to Top

 

 

Persian Language Lesson

 

Persian Section

Back to Top

 

Spanish Language Lesson

 

Spanish Section

Back to Top