An expert from the Italian Embassy in Vietnam said old, small houses are unique and of great cultural value. International tourists prefer renting such houses than living in apartments in modern urban areas like Ciputra.
Addressing a seminar on Hanoi Old Quarters Preservation held on September 10th, the Italian expert said that he was sad seeing some structures being destroyed whenever he returned Hanoi. “If Hanoians are not aware of preserving the old quarters, then the image of the old quarters of Hanoi should be rebuilt in the outskirts in 20 years”, he shared.
The expert said that one of things attracting tourists to Hanoi were the old quarters, not skyscrapers. The old quarters made Hanoi different from other cities across the world.
“We possess precious treasures but we do not know how to preserve them. The old quarters of Hanoi have been badly affected by the market economy; thus the regulations on preservation need to be stricter. And it is necessary to get local people involved in, and the State’s support in the preservation”, said Dao Ngoc Nghiem, former director of the Hanoi Department Architecture Planning.
In recent years , only four out of more than 200 old houses in Hanoi, including structures at 38 Hang Dao, 51 Hang Bac, 87 Ma May and 28 Hang Buom have been restored with the State’s Budget and donation from international organisations.
Having been restored, those houses have become attractive tourist addresses for both domestic and international visitors.
However, some owners have repaired or re-built their old houses without meeting any standards and not in keeping with the old design, resulting in the disappearance of several old houses.
To instruct the owners to re-build the old houses under the old architecture, the Management Board of the Old Quarters of Hanoi has worked out some new recommendations, such as the front side of the house should suit the traditional architecture, light colors and construction materials should stand the hot and humid weather conditions in Vietnam. Especially, advertisement panels must be less than 80cm in height and not cover the vertical side of the balcony.
In addition, old regulations, including the structure’s height of less than 12m applied for houses in the front, will remain in force.
Source: Vnexpress
Translated by Mai Huong