As one can see today, the city’s architecture spreads from colonial remnants – Saigon was once called the Pearl of Asia by the French in the early 20th century- to new city blocks emerging from scratch like Phu My Hung area (district 7). Cranes in dusty construction sites are erected all over the city, tons of workers and engineers work overnight like ants, temporary skeletons of rising building become common.
So how will be the new face of Saigon?
Brief history: a patchwork of influences
The architecture of Saigon displays a range of influences and styles from different countries and periods. These range from the French colonial and Art Deco styles, Chinese shop houses and hybrid forms of the American period to the tendency of more contemporary architecture to incorporate trends from around the world. In both aesthetic and technological terms, Saigon’s architecture may be divided into the more traditional pre-Doi Moi period until 1995, and the largely modern post-1995 period.
Modern architecture in Saigon began with the transitional Art Deco style and the arrival of reinforced concrete as a popular building material. International Style modern architecture was popular from the 1960s to the 1970s, especially in the public housing apartment blocks.
After the end of the war, Russian architecture was predominant. This period is characterized by numerous repetitions of style and lack of quality material until 1995.
Nowadays, an architectural trend has been the rediscovery of Saigon’s architectural heritage, leading to an active conservation of French colonial villas, which are now visible as light boxes covering facades were taken down. But bolder architects are taking Saigon directly to the 21st century.
Local innovation today
An important area of local innovation has involved seeking to develop a form of modern architecture appropriate to Saigonese climate. This climatically sensitive approach to architecture traces its roots back to the French houses and hospitals (Graal hospital has set the standards for hospital architecture in Vietnam and in the region for instance).
The big leap toward bio-climatic architecture
From the late 1990s, this has led to a proliferation of what might be called “modern tropical architecture”, or neo-tropical architecture. It involves a return to clean and simple rectilinear modernist forms, coupled with an emphasis of lush landscaping and sleek sun-shading in the form of tainted glass.
But have these architectural efforts taken into account energy saving concerns, global warming, climate change and environmental sustainability ? Especially given that air conditioning in buildings is one of the largest consumers of electricity in Saigon, which is mostly generated by fossil fuels, it is very likely not. Hoang Anh Tu, professor at the HCMC university of architecture and founder of Arcasia, a well-established architect firm in Vietnam, explains how he can link techniques of the past and new technologies : “one should always consider the principles of the Vietnamese climate such as sun, rain and humidity; it is very specific to every country. This is key to achieve harmonious and sustainable architecture. Like many architects aware of sustainable architecture, I am very concerned by the consumption of energy. One of the most energy-eater is air conditioning. I always try to reduce drastically this consumption when I is possible. For example, I always favour natural ventilation as well as natural lighting. It is such a paradox to light up a room or a corridor with artificial light when you have such a beautiful sunshine almost 365 days a year !”. Hoang Tu Anh shows me one of his design where he could divide the consumption of electricity due to air conditioning by two. The façade exposed to the sun (southern orientation) is generating hot air. By temperature difference with the façade under the sun, convection air currents are naturally created. “This is not supposed to replace air conditioning. Air conditioning is still important because natural ventilation cannot cool 100% of any building. But natural ventilation can reduce energy consumption by two. One of the aim of sustainable architecture is not to favour exclusively natural material. On the contrary, it aims at merging old techniques, traditional material with new technologies so we get the best of both.”
He also acknowledges that Vietnam is lagging behind today in construction technologies. “They are simply not available here”, he regrets. But he also adds optimistically: “Natural construction material has so much potential here. There is tradition and solid know-how. One of them is a brick used by ethnic minorities, made of rice paddy, clay and… honey! Of course we cannot use as such to build skyscrapers but researches should be financed to look into how to improve these techniques. Unfortunately no researches form public nor private sector are studying Vietnamese traditional construction material.
A Saigonese architecture on the rise
What is at stake here is the definition of a Saigonese architecture. Many views are competing with each other. Architects will propose; time and people will dispose.
“The lack of rules create anarchy”, Frederic Bolliet, founder of ADN Concept, remarks. “The only rule so far has been the return on investment. Well, that is pretty much opposite to architecture philosophy I guess”, he adds.
There is no significant will from the people’s Committee to develop 'iconic' landmarks in the city, as a means to strengthening the Saigonese identity as well as to attract foreign tourists, skilled immigrants, investments and buzz. But for Hoang Anh Tu, it is absurd to decide to build a landmark, simply because it is not a decree that you can decide unilaterally ; it is much more about worldwide and timely recognition. “A building or a tower becomes a landmark when it has passed the jusdgement of architects in the world. More importantly, it must pass succesguly the judgemen of the people and of time”, he concludes.
There is a mix of different times and origins for the architecture in Saigon today. The economic rationale is still dominant and thus, building has been shaped according to the motto “fast built, fast operate, fast return on investment”. The edifices built are largely generic. “You can find these styles of building a little bit anywhere in the region, in Shanghai, in Kuala Lumpur or in Manilla. It is pretty much a simple design and it is not taking into account any local Vietnamese specificities”, Stephane Crete, an architect working at AW2, a French architecture firm headquarted in Paris, analyses. “This is sad but maybe necessary period. Now that competition increased, we can see more and more clients demanding for high-quality buildings. Basically, this is because it sells that people will ask for architecture. Because it gives a competitive edge to the product one could say”, he remarks ironically. This is also in the nature and functions of buildings required for the time being, mainly office building. The demand is so huge that the main criteria will be price and date of availability.
So where will we see some innovation? Duy, who founded his own architect agency recently, addresses the question: “innovation is now the luxury of few architects in Saigon. Basically it comes from small projects; like this villa for a wealthy person. This person wanted a 20 meter long swimming pool … on the rooftop ! And it also helps cooling the roof, which is usually an issue… Sometimes, the useful and agreable joins together… In order to optimise natural conditions of light and wind, we created a light well and a rain collector to cool down the walls. These innovations are great and this client was ok to put the price behind it. Because it also gives face”. Luxury apartments also give a lot of room for innovation and creativity.
Vietnamese identity may lie much more in interior architecture. The rediscovery of the wet kitchen may well mark the path to this Vietnamese style. The wet kitchen is, as opposed to the dry kitchen, the place where in traditional homes, cooking was made. It was usually outside, in an open space but under a roof. In modern homes, the wet kitchen has disappeared. But the smoke and smell stemming from cooking is becoming more and more annoying for some people. Thus, the wet kitchen is coming back. DWP integrates it more and more in its projects, even in towers and buildings. “Our ancestors were already using it. We are just re-discovering the past”, Duy says.
Another feature of Vietnamese interior design is that the room dedicated to ancestors altar is preserved. The cult of the ancestors does not suffer modernity or space saving or space maximisation. But it is still of a headache due to the feng shui because according to these rules, this room should be facing the street; this is difficult to abide by this rule as the living room usually faces street in modern homes!
How will people’s life change?
New architecture brings new way of living. One of the most important will be to learn to live “vertically” and collectively. Street life, which is so important in Saigon, will be radically changed and replaced by “corridor” life. There won’t be a soup child to pass by any more, nor a late night café open down the street corner.
Neighbor relations will also undergo a change. Where there used to be lots of contact before, life in skyscrapers will maybe erase it. Casual contacts with neighbors chattering in front of their houses may well disappear.
On the other hand, architects have taken this issue into account: they try to create commercial areas at the base of their new buildings, usually 3 or 4 storeys dedicated to shops , convenient stores or cafes, thus preserving public areas and social link.
For example, DWP will build a 3,000-apartment complex in district Binh Chanh district. Instead of square towers, Duy tried a new design, a first-time ever in Vietnam: a building in a shape of a ring, with various terraces levels like gigantic waves. This cutting edge building features not only technical innovations but also revolutionizes Vietnamese way of living. “We are going to a “dubaisation” of the living !”, he claims. “ People will have to get used to live on high-storey building”.
The whole organisation of services is impacted. “For this new building, we also had to design the way to collect… trashes. Basically, tenants will be distributed trash bags. For them, doing it with their own bags they will collect from supermarkets for example, does not correspond to the 5-star rate of the condominium”, Duy recalls. DWP had also to rethink the mailboxes system, the electricity counters and of course the parking lot, which anticipating one car and two motorcycles per apartment. As for technical aspects, facades are longitudinally crossed by small “wind corridors” so that the area behind is still aerated.
But big scale does not exclude a concern for small details : terraces have large board so that there is no vis a vis. “I really wanted to bring the best of comfort features from South East of France where I lived for fifteen years !”, Duy smiles.
Saigon and Vietnam will find their way by adapting and integrating into this globalised architecture. Also, a consistent urban planification and homogeneisation guidelines will help creating strong identity for the city.
