From tropical Saigon to tropical Saigon architecture

If ‘Indochinese architecture’ appeared in many urban areas across the country, tropical architecture in the period 1954-1975 mainly appeared in Saigon. As the only city that has access to foreign economics, science and technology, the architecture here has had the conditions to develop and leave values ​​that need to be affirmed.
There was a time on par with the region

From 1954-1975, Saigon, under the management of the national government at the time, with the social situation had a temporary period of peace, the economy was developed, the urban attraction increased, leading to the urbanization rate. rapidly developing. Since the 1960s, the economy has depended on massive aid from allied capitalist countries, especially the United States. Saigon urban area has the opportunity to develop further. The networks of roads and main roads were expanded and newly built. The population of Saigon at that time was more than three million people and had become a huge metropolis, a population center, a center of employment and a refugee camp. The Library of General Science, designed by architect Nguyen Huu Thien and architect Bui Quang Hanh, completed in 1972, is highly appreciated for its architectural solutions to adapt to hot, humid tropical climates and heavy rains. In the early 1970s, due to the economic investment policy to attract foreign capital, the city’s industry developed strongly, and a series of large-scale enterprises appeared. In parallel with the development of technical infrastructure, traffic, electricity, water; social infrastructure, public works, commerce, services, large residences, buildings, hospitals, universities are invested and developed with higher quality than before. In addition, a large number of highly qualified and numerous scientific and technical workers, technical workers and craftsmen were born. In which, a team of Vietnamese architects trained from many domestic and foreign sources such as France and the US have met the design and construction needs of Saigon. Based on the contemporary socio-economic foundation, construction activities developed together with close exchanges with Western capitalist countries have created conditions for art movements in the world to be imported into Vietnam. freely. In which, the popular international modern architectural style has contributed to changing the appearance of Saigon architecture. This architectural style has begun to gradually replace the cumbersome and restrictive Western classical and neoclassical architectural forms before, making Saigon architecture bring many elements of a modern urban architecture. compared to other countries in Asia at this time. Notably, most of these architectural works are designed and constructed by a team of Vietnamese architects who meet international modern standards. The stylized stilt house standing on the lake and the flower wall on the reading room façade is a reasonable solution. Columns, beams, cantilevered roofs, roofs reaching out from the walls are familiar traditional images . The trend of modern architecture when entering our country has been applied by the architects to suit the local climatic conditions and has formed the style of “tropical modern architecture”. In fact, this style appears almost widely in countries with tropical climates such as Brazil of South America, some South African countries, South Asian countries such as India, Sri Lanka or from Southeast Asian countries. They have the common characteristics of simple shapes, high-rise buildings, reinforced concrete construction materials, aluminum and glass, high functional value, use of detailed structure of couches, sunshades and corridors in accordance with the requirements of the project. humid tropical climate. However, a special feature is that “tropical modern architecture” in Saigon has been skillfully combined by Vietnamese architects between Western modern technical elements and Eastern culture, exploiting the traditional architectural features in the building. The harmony between architecture, people and nature has made these buildings truly worthy contemporary works to be treasured. Tropical features and Saigon nuances Referring to the typical architectural works of this period, it is impossible not to mention the Independence Palace by the architect. Ngo Viet Thu and his associates designed. My colleagues also have an analysis of this work in the same issue, however, I still want to emphasize, this is a work that shows a harmonious combination of Western and Eastern cultural elements. , creating a project with a “tropical modern” style as a monumental highlight at the end of Le Duan street. Independence Palace seen from above. Photo: Zing The facade architecture of the building is divided into three solid – hollow – and solid pieces, which partly repeats the layout of the previous Norodom Palace, however, can also recall the silhouette of the traditional three-room, two-gable house, similar correspond to the functional areas inside. The ground floor is designed with large glass doors to bring trees and water surface into the building as much as possible. The prominent image on the façade is the unique “stone flower curtain”, the author’s name for his work. Because the facade of the building faces East – North, in order to have a lot of natural light and still limit solar radiation, the author has cleverly combined Western technical materials with traditional aesthetic concepts. The tradition creates the image of the curtain, making people think of the images of the shuttle or the bamboo structures, which are symbols of the gentleman in the concept of the Eastern people. They bring a very familiar feeling to Vietnamese people. Inside the flower curtain is a wide and long porch filled with light, reminiscent of a porch in folk architecture. The indoor spaces are created by the author according to the principle of natural ventilation and open space to exploit the surrounding landscape and also to suit the climate here. Even the roof insulation solution is taken care of. The roof has a two-layer floor structure, the bottom is a bearing concrete layer, the top is a heat-resistant knitting sheet placed on a brick pillow 40cm from the floor, it is thanks to the convection air cushion in the middle that should keep the indoor temperature at all times. cool either. At the same time, in the work, some specific materials are used such as washing stone, grinding stone to paint the walls, but there are people who put the Independence Palace in the category of “tropical architecture that creates Saigon’s nuances in the overall design of the city.” Vietnamese contemporary architecture”. In 1972, the construction of the General Science Library designed by architects Nguyen Huu Thien and Bui Quang Hanh was completed. The work is located in a quite favorable position in the city center, opposite the old Gia Long Palace – now the City Revolution Museum – at the corner of Nam Ky Khoi Nghia and Ly Tu Trong streets today. The authors have combined the building block in functionalism by creating two blocks with a clear geometric shape but cleverly arranging them to contrast each other. The horizontal block is the reading room and the vertical block is the bookstore, along with the solid and hollow façade solution to bring unexpected and impressive visual effects. Although this is a tactic that we often encounter in some modern Western works, here the authors have shown the consistency from content to form an architectural solution adapted to the situation. The climate is tropical with lots of sunshine and lots of rain. At the same time, the authors also know how to skillfully combine Western aesthetic elements and traditional Vietnamese elements to create a work with unique nuances. General Science Library Architecture. Photo: Flickr That is the architectural treatment of the facade of the bookstore with solid walls running in the horizontal direction, symbolizing books stacked on top of each other and leaving only small window slots just enough to get light, to Avoid direct sunlight to yellow the documents inside. Or like the image of a stylized stilt house standing on a lake in a cubic layout of the building’s facade, the ground floor floor is raised from the ground to bring a sense of closeness and enjoyment but without losing the grandeur of House. Because the work is facing northwest – southeast, the use of a flower wall on the facade of the reading room block is quite reasonable, both against solar radiation and creating ventilation for the corridors and rooms inside. . Especially here the authors have modernized traditional architectural elements to create decorative motifs that are extremely expressive, bringing great success. The work that makes a strong and unforgettable impression is thanks to this flower wall. The building is no longer a homogeneous box-shaped block, but has used many elements of traditional wooden architecture such as columns, beams, cantilever, roof raced out from the wall, even the familiar bare surfaces of the building. The large wall panels in modern architectural style are also treated with stone materials and decorated with dragon and phoenix reliefs. The shapes and details show that the Vietnameseization as well as the tropicalization of modern architecture at the Library of General Science has reached its peak. University of Medicine and Pharmacy project. Photo: MINH@K It is possible to point out another project, which is the University of Medicine and Pharmacy. Located in a large campus, with a distributed layout but the blocks are linked together by rows of covered corridors on all three floors, so the circulation between functional blocks is quite convenient. It is also thanks to this layout that the building organically connects with the gardens, trees, water surface, weaving in the campus to create a fresh atmosphere, softening the harsh sun of the climate. It also demonstrates the application of the principles of the school of organic architecture that such masters as Frank Lloyd Wright, Alvar Aalto, Richards Neutra have proposed. Although there is a limitation of square shapes, but due to the way of creating a liberal floor plan, due to the flexible solution of space, it has been quite closely combined between the indoor and outdoor spaces. between architectural works and nature in a harmonious and lively manner. The project of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy is a very successful example of a solution against solar radiation. For the east and west facing facades, a vertical and thick slat system combined with the corridor was used. As for the south and north facing sides, the corridor solution is combined with the mixed roof system. The blocks are linked together thanks to the corridors covered with all three floors, so the circulation between the functional blocks is quite convenient and organically connected with the gardens, trees, and the sun. country. This is also a successful work on solutions against solar radiation. For the facades facing east and west, a thick and vertical slat system in combination with the corridor was used. As for the south and north facing sides, the corridor solution is combined with the mixed roof system. Photo: MINH@K In general, the architecture of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy has a high consistency thanks to the use of a wide corridor system solution combined with blue forms, herringbone stairs, whitewashed stone walls that stand out on the green background of trees. All of them create a very typical style of “Saigon tropical architecture”. Although there are only a few typical examples in the overall picture of Saigon urban architecture in the period 1954-1975, it also gives us an idea that Saigon architecture in this period has taken a step forward. outstanding, both adapting to the tropical climate and meeting the needs of the new urban lifestyle of the people here. Whenever mentioning this period, everyone is proud of an architecture with the common name “tropical modernization”, a title favored by many international researchers. With a fairly smooth combination between modernity and ethnicity in architecture, between architectural, climatic and human factors, the works in this period really laid a solid foundation for the the next step of contemporary Vietnamese architecture. Posts: Assoc. Nguyen Khoi