LookAtVietnam – The architectural character of Ho Chi Minh City lacks coherence, creativity and a specific identity of its own, experts said at a meeting held last week.

An ageing tenement in HCM City’s District 10 is in a dangerous state of disrepair.

However, the trend in HCM City is vague and not helping create an architectural style specific to the city, participants at the meeting agreed.

There are thousands of beautiful houses and villas around the city, some of them in the French colonial style and others that are simple and functional. At the same time, several older apartment buildings, and offices are eyesores, and many residential buildings look in danger of falling over.

Because “land is gold,” the tiniest space is used for doing business, so the city has ended up having many narrow tall buildings.

Experts also gave different opinions about architectural works built in recent years.

Tran Chi Dung, acting director of the municipal Planning and Architecture Department, said that many new urban areas that have developed around the city in recent years had expanded the city’s architectural spaces.

Many traffic works have been upgraded and redecorated, and this has increased the attractiveness of urban architecture in the city, he said, citing works along the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Cannal, the East-West Highway and the Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street as examples.

Architect Luong Anh Dung, meanwhile, said he was not satisfied with the architecture of many current construction works, explaining they did not match that of a tropical country.

It was also tough that so many works were cubic shaped, he added.

“The city also has many works with fine architectural designs, however they look very odd together,” said architect Vu Dai Hai.

Hai pointed to architectural works along the Nam Ky Khoi Nghia-Nguyen Van Troi roads that link the Tan Son Nhat Airport with the city’s downtown area as evidence of his statement.

Dr Nguyen Trong Hoa, chairman of the HCM City Urban Planning and Architecture Council, said that Sai Gon is a colourful, vivid and young city.

However, architecture in the city was somewhat chaotic because new architecture works and old ones did not have “the same language,” he said.

In order words, Viet Nam’s own contemporary architecture is not yet found in HCM City, he said.

Poor management

Experts at the seminar attributed the city’s unattractive architectural façade and character to poor management by municipal authorities, particularly those responsible for urban management.

Urban managers did not pay sufficient attention to design and granted permits haphazardly, Vu Duc Hai said. He noted that business licenses were granted in areas dominated by villas, spoiling the character of the place.

Dr. Nguyen Trong Hoa said that the role of architects in the management of urban planning and construction was very little at present. Very few architects were invited to work in urban and construction management offices.

Architects must share responsibility with managers for the unseemly architectural structures in HCM City, said architect Ho Le Phuong.

His view was shared by architect Nguyen Van Tat who said Viet Nam had a lot of architects but their professional skills were still low because of poor training. Vietnamese architects were yet to promote originality and creativity, he said.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News