Lookatvietnam – German architect Wolfgang Boehm is key professor at the Southeast Asian Architectural Summer School. He speaks about his impressions of the city’s urban environment.

We focused on the topic of “Affordable Urban Housing” in 2008, and invited 20 students from Viet Nam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Germany to research and design new housing, which is affordable and suitable for Southeast Asian climatic, cultural and social conditions.

Our emphasis has been to respect the immediate urban environment, the culture and lifestyle of the Vietnamese people. We did not emphasise a fashionable architecture, which would be unsuitable and short-lived.

Most importantly, we emphasised the method and approach to correct urban designs, as well as an appropriate scale and construction for different apartments and housing areas.

This Southeast Asian Summer School has now been conducted in Ha Noi for the forth time with great success and response from students from five countries.

Why did you come to Viet Nam in 1996? Do you remember your first day in the country?

I initially came to Ha Noi thanks to the academic co-operation between Germany’s Technical University of Kaiserslautern, where I’m teaching and Ha Noi Architectural University.

When I was an architectural student in Stuttgart, Germany, I joined the protests against the Viet Nam War of the US on the streets and on the campus of my university.

It seemed to me somehow logical to visit this country later as a professor and to contribute to the development of this war-torn country.

On my first flight to Ha Noi, I was sitting next to an Israeli businessman. Knowing that I would say here for three weeks, he could not believe it as he found Ha Noi to be the most boring place in Asia with no Western urban life and nightlife.

So, I landed with mixed feelings. My hotel wasn’t renovated and was equipped with quite old and odd furniture.

The next day, I visited the partner university. The road was something I had never seen before, a long and dusty road filled with bicyclists and motorbikes that was noisy and chaotic; women along the road bravely carried their heavy goods on their shoulders with hardly any decent shoes.

I found that students were hungry to learn and to know more after each class. I still remember their thankfulness and appreciation.

How do you feel about the people and the life here?

The life in Ha Noi is very, very different from the life in Europe. It is enjoyable and so exciting to see how people do their daily things.

Especially, I’m impressed by women who carry their heavy loads on their shoulders such as fruits and vegetables and small dishes and still have a smile.

When I see that, I think that the war could only have been won by the strength of the Vietnamese women, who supported their men in the war.

I have met wonderful people. Whether rich or poor, they have shown politeness and dignity.

During my first stay in Ha Noi, I met a young student, who impressed me by her diligence, care and beauty. I got to know her family and friends. Since then, I call her my Vietnamese daughter.

The weather is wonderful in November, but the heat of the summer is more difficult to take.

How about your working time in Viet Nam? Did it help you understand the architectural concepts here?

Vietnamese students are more oriented towards a fast and visually attractive result, rather than focusing on the process and method of architectural design.

The Vietnamese tradition is to copy - similar to the traditional education in a fine arts academy, which means a lack of critical assessment of new designs.

Architectural concepts are quickly taken from other, mainly Western sources, and transferred to the Vietnamese urban context without asking whether it is right or wrong. Styles and fashions in architecture are not questioned rather they are just accepted.

In my opinion, this has to be changed in order to respect Vietnamese culture, history and tradition, which is of high value and importance to Viet Nam as a country with an old and distinguished culture.

What is your opinion of Ha Noi’s architecture?

I visited a new and rich urban apartment complex at the periphery of Ha Noi. It is built in a classical style and looks like a piece of French architecture or an urban piece of Paris. Besides, this new quarter is completely guarded and closed for visitors and the normal population.

I thought this project is very awkward and should not have been built. Nothing should be built in this completely foreign fashion, nor should something be built only for rich Vietnamese people.

Ha Noi lives by its openness, liveliness and charm of the old and the young; its mix of wealth and poverty makes Ha Noi a unique urban environment. The copied French architecture only demonstrates new wealth and exclusiveness.

A minor problem is, of course, traffic. Over ten years ago, the traffic was already chaotic; now, it seems to have become more orderly and regulated by traffic lights. But, I am afraid that once every Vietnamese has their own car, the level of air pollution and traffic congestion will rise to enormous levels. The Vietnamese Government is well aware of this fact and development, yet there is not much funding for public transportation.

Do you find any difference about people and customs in different areas in the country?

I have been to HCM City in 2002. For me it is not a favourite place, because it reflects too much of Western styles in architecture and lifestyle. The city is modern, hectic and to some extent is lacking its own character. HCM City has developed quite differently from Ha Noi. It has become the financial and trade centre of Viet Nam, which is reflected in its buildings and fashions.

What sights do you appreciate most in Ha Noi?

By now I know my Ha Noi quite well. I do not go to particular sightseeing places, rather I value all of Ha Noi as worth seeing.

I visited Ho Chi Minh’s vestige and mausoleum and was incredibly impressed by the simplicity and humble attitude, which the great man showed through his way of living, working and governing his country. Seeing how he lived, in that simple house with the most simple furniture, my admiration and respect has become even greater.

So, you can be sure, due to my Vietnamese friends, due to their care and sympathy, due to wonderful Ha Noi and its people, I will stay committed to contribute further in the coming years by my teaching and care for Vietnamese culture and tradition, its development and well-being.

(Source: Viet Nam News)