Can you spell interesting, individual and inspired? Hello again me hearties and welcome to architecture part deux. This entry is a little more personal, as I ventured out and especially because after a series of failed excursions and being cheated by a taxi the size of a Kancil, Fei and I managed to get a few decent pictures to show you how Vietnamese architecture really is like no other. It’s just so cool, the farther out of town you wander!
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An apparent style of architectural design that is unique yet maintaining some distinctively similar traits |
Vietnamese houses have long been associated with business. Most people run businesses and live above their workplace, such that a shop house culture has emerged in relation to the way buildings are designed. Therefore, most houses within the city are tall and narrow. This trend has also made its way beyond the skirts of the city into the suburbs. When a house is built, it is tall and narrow such that subsequent houses are also designed in the same fashion.
On Day 5 after our session at Caritas and some super kow (which means “thick” in the Hokkien dialect) Vietnamese drip coffee, Fei and I went walking around the city on the lookout for interesting-looking buildings. We noticed that French architectural styles were prominent almost everywhere, particularly with contemporary architecture, in particular the shophouses. Each floor typically has a balcony with double doors that have two adjacent independent panels hinged on each side of the doorway.– a characteristic that is distinctively French. Most windows still have louvered shutters, some even incorporated with a window box. Furthermore, designers are expressedly creative, with houses painted a multitude of colours. For instance, the Bitexco Financial Towers demonstrates beyond what the eye can see amidst a dense and busy rainbow. Houses are beautiful to look at because they display designs that are incredibly intricate. Some are taller, some are shorter, but neither one is any wider.
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| A typical modern example of a Vietnamese home |
But back to the matter at hand, I’d also like to express how skillful Vietnamese contractors are. They are able to remove an entire shop house in the middle of a compact row and, in its place, erect a new one, linking it together seamlessly with the rest. Their imagination and creativity are showcased by the complexity of their designs. The hotel we are staying in is a good example. The Mai Vy hotel is not the prettiest building in the alley, but I must describe how ingenious the arrangements of the rooms are made in a building that is about 6 metres wide and 6 storeys high.
First off, the staircase is a square spiral that leads to three rooms on each floor. Each room has its own bathroom, a wardrobe, a dressing table and one or two double beds with simple but functional frames. There are compartments on the headboard which look like they are merely part of the design, but they can be used to stow relatively flat items such as laptops. And I know this has not got much to do with the article but I must express my gratitude and enjoyment during our stay at Mai Vy Hotel. The staff are extremely friendly, helpful and accommodating, demonstrating a fine example of true Vietnamese hospitality.
One of the highlights of our exploration of architecture was the trip to the Bitexco Financial Tower, the tallest building in Saigon. It dwarfs the city’s other structures, standing at 262 metres and 68 storeys high. The shape of the building was inspired by that of a lotus bud, symbolizing the gradual blooming and integration of Vietnamese traditional culture with aspirations after progress. At night, the Bitexco Financial Tower is almost invisible, save for the lights at the top that glitter like diamonds.
This monumental modern structure is the brainchild of property developer Vu Quang Hoi, who invested about 300 million US dollars into his project. According to the information we have gleaned, it was his way of showing that Vietnam is no longer a war-torn country but an integrated player in the arena of the global economy. His idea became a reality with the help of world-renowned architect Carlos Zapata.
6000 plates of glass were used to clothe the structure, the glass plates imported from Belgium and fashioned in South Korea. This special glass was chosen for its superior qualities of displaying resistance to wind forces and reducing external noise. I noticed how the glass was double layered, the two layers of glass separated by space while walking around the observation deck.
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| The Bitexco Financial Tower |
From the observation deck, the whole of Saigon stretches into the distance, beyond what the eye can fully see. It was really cloudy because it had just started to rain heavily as we entered the Bitexco Financial Tower. Regardless, the view was simply amazing. The wide curves of the Saigon River snaking its way through the city, past the cargo docks and ferry jetties provided a contrast between the developed city and the neighbouring countryside. While the observation deck is on the 49th floor, other buildings in Saigon are only a few stories high; this huge disparity in height makes the bird’s eye view of other buildings a majestic one from the observation deck. Countless blocks of thickly concentrated shophouses make up the cityscape like blocks of multicoloured Legos. In comparison, our own Petronas Twin Towers of 88 storeys, surrounded by other really tall buildings, is only open for viewing from the 41st floor. In other words, you have a better view of Saigon than of Kuala Lumpur.
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| All rainbows and no unicorns. Amazing view. |
To sum it up, Saigon is heading towards a fabulous future of progress whilst maintaining its wonderful jumble of East-meets-West and modern-meets-traditional. In this city where no two buildings are alike - where architectural designs are brilliant - and the people are wonderful and warm, I’ve fallen head over heels in love with Saigon. I HEART YOU SAIGON!
Farah Zulkefly, majoring in Journalism and Communications, is an omnivorous being who loves spending time in the depths of the ocean where humans can't talk with turtles and other reef inhabitants. She has a closet love for architecture and interiors but cannot draw to save her life.
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