Antidote to Burnout

Questions about modernist architecture

2009-11-01T14:51:46+07:00

avo provided some very thought-provoking questions about modernist architecture for houses in Vietnam on my posting of HCMC House 12. Rather than provide a response back in the comments to the posting, I want to publish it here for greater visibility as well as to get back into posting about Vietnamese modernist architecture.

avo asked "does any of those angle facade elements have anything to do with the surrounding environment?" The direct answer is no, which is typical of modernist architecture for houses in southern Vietnam. The surrounding environment is usually more houses of the same form and height. Since the only exposed part of these houses is the street facade, the style of architecture can be expressed here and therefore can reflect the tastes of the owner or the architect or contractor. Some of these houses will have traditional styles, while many will be modernist. While the choice of a traditional style can be considered to be an emotional choice (at least I see it that way), a modernist composition becomes much more intellectual in the many choices that must be made regarding materials, finishes, textures, forms, lines, and colors. In the traditional style, these choices are prescribed by the style itself.

In this case, the architect's organizing principle is the composition of angled forms and the warped surfaces. The only objective is to make a pleasing composition using the window and door framing within the openings. This leads to avo's implied question in this statement: "The house might have its own appearance (maybe a different look with other typical Vietnamese "tube" house), but modernist architecture might have been gone deeper into functional rather than aesthetic look." That is historically true of modernist architecture -- "form follows function" has been a major principle of modernism. In this case, the architect has brought the exterior skin in front of the structural frame to address the function of keeping the weather out of the house while allowing views out. But this function must be accommodated in every house. What is different and important here is the intellectual choices made to carry out an unusual idea about the warping of surfaces.

avo also asked if the design of House 12 depends on "uses of occupations? or nothing but just the style of the architect?" I believe the style of the architect is the architecture of House 12. As I have stated above, the principles of Vietnamese modernist architecture for townhouses deal with resolving the functions of structure, weather proofing, ventilation, views, and light for the house, but most importantly, involves presentation of an intellectual idea that is expressed in the composition of the facade. I have not determined any differences in modernist facades that indicate either an occupation of a home-owner or of any commercial activities that might occur in the house. On the other hand, the ground floor facade of houses along busy streets does relate mostly to the commercial activities on the ground floor, and usually has nothing to do with the design of the house above.

No more construction voreurism

2009-09-20T20:39:36+07:00

As much as I love construction and watching the contractor behind my house manage the construction site, my wife is making us relocate way the hell out there in District 6, where she was born long ago. She made this decision based purely on economic issues (much, much cheaper out there), but she likes to keep the bedroom window open, and that is impossible nowadays with the construction running full tilt 24 hours a day.

I must admit that I finally concluded that two years of high decibel noise at night time was not going to be good for me.

There is always one hole being drilled and one hole being set up with reinforcing bars and concrete poured, always at night.

This photo was taken on Sunday morning so the usual morning shift of ironworkers was not in to make rebar cages, but made it for the afternoon shift.

In this night shot on Sunday evening, the ironworkers are hard at work,

while the drillers are drilling and the rebar cages are being set.

Light pollution is also an issue on these 24-hour-a-day construction sites. By midnight, the rebar cage at the extreme left will be set down the hole and the concrete trucks will arrive.

Building Construction Week 19

2009-08-31T09:01:44+07:00

This week the contractor brought in infrastructure to support the work and make operations on the site less messy. Foundation construction is inherently messy in Vietnam since most large building foundations involve drilled piers using massive quantities of water mixed with bentonite clay to stabilize the holes until rebars and concrete are poured in them. The usual construction site is a muddy mess.

This contractor has given a lot of thought about how to layout and do the work, and has prepared the site to be neat and orderly. I notice now that CoteCcons is the main contractor, and they have all the sheds painted two colors of green. They are one of the largest Vietnamese construction companies in Vietnam, and seem to be particularly well-run.

The two concrete runways will make movement of equipment and materials through the site easier and cleaner. The layout is undoubtedly coordinated with the layout of the drilled piers. The concrete pad on the right will be the staging area for the reinforcing bar cages to be dropped into the holes. Brick foundations were formed to support the sheds and keep them out of the mud.

Building Construction Week 18

2009-08-23T09:14:39+07:00

Construction resumes on the 3,600 square meters (38,750 sq. ft or .9 acre) site behind my house outside my bedroom window. Two months ago, I said that the site would be idle for two or three months while the engineers evaluate the results of the pile testing program. Now they are back.

Last Thursday morning, executives showed up and set up a small alter. That was the signal that construction would begin soon. I presume the executive praying at the altar is the foundation contractor. The next night, trucks began delivering equipment (in the middle of the night because trucks can only run on the city streets from 9 pm to 5 am in the morning or so). They also brought rubble back to the site to stabilize working areas for the equipment.

Over the next week, it is likely the contractor will set up all of the equipment, site housing, and materials storage, and then start drilling piers in earnest for the next few months.

Articulating Contemporary Vietnamese Villa Design

2009-08-14T21:16:18+07:00

I love presenting photos of Vietnamese architecture and describing what it is and how it fits into the context or culture of Vietnam. Like most architects, however, I cannot write well about the reasons for the architecture. We know what is good about particular examples of architecture, and can illustrate it, but we cannot explain it.

Hawkins Pham of the blog Saigon Blues is not an architect, but he is a good writer, and a good architectural critic. He posted recently about the reasons and history behind the design of the Nam Hai villas located between Danang and Hoi An on the central coast of Vietnam. He wrote articulately about the historical references and the phong thuỷ principles behind the contemporary design of the Nam Hai villas.

I visited the model villa set up for sales of the villas at Nam Hai while the project was under construction.

I recognized then that the planning of this development and the design of the villas had set a new high standard for the design of resorts yet to come up and down the coast of Vietnam, as well as Southeast Asia.

I especially appreciated the spaces between the villas and how the design skillfully created privacy between units (that are actually quite close together) and also created a sense of journey to the entry of the units.

Looking back now at this final photo, I realize now the detailed references to the construction of the old Chinese courtyard houses evident in the window details and roof eaves of the new villas.

The Nam Hai was developed by Indochina Capital in 2006 and the villas were successfully sold to buyers for values over US$1 million each. The villas become part of the hotel pool when owners are not present. The hotel is managed by GHM Hotels. The villas were designed by AW2, a french firm with a strong presence in Vietnam, and the interior design was by Jaya Ibrahim of Indonesia. The design was designated by Travel+Leisure Magazine as the best resort design in 2008.

An RV in Vietnam

2009-08-10T21:03:30+07:00

I saw an RV (recreation vehicle) for the first time in Vietnam today. More changes are coming to Vietnam.

I saw it on the street as I was walking home from work, but I couldn't get my iPhone out fast enough to get a photo. But a couple of blocks later, I passed by an auto dealer on Huàng Văn Thụ Street, and it was just backing into a showroom slot.

It appears to be a 30-foot long American-made model. It is also well-used, but on a newer Ford chassis that had a Vietnamese license plate. It will be interesting to see how long it sits in the dealer showroom.

It is hard to imagine where a buyer might park this thing. Most people that buy cars here park them in their front living room. I posted about parking problems before.

I also haven't seen any campgrounds in Vietnam yet. I can imagine there might be some up in the national parks, but there sure isn't any within 200 km of Ho Chi Minh City. And there aren't any Walmart parking lots to use, either.

Healthy eating in Vietnam

2009-08-09T18:12:31+07:00

While back in America last winter, I was struck by the contrast in eating habits compared with the more healthy food in Vietnam. It is, of course, an oversimplification for a very sophisticated and diverse cuisine, but Vietnamese food can be characterized as using a lot of fresh vegetables that are not covered up by heavy sauces.

In America, I tend to have a bowl of cereal with empty calories for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch with a large dose of meat and a few vegetables, and a large meat portion for dinner, including hamburgers and steaks. Potatoes in various forms are often added to the dinner, and occasionally a vegetable, but at no where near the percentage common in my Vietnamese diet.

In Vietnam, I eat a bowl of soup every morning for breakfast (ăn sáng) that always features a lot of green leafy vegetables to add.

The soup pictured above is bún bò huế, and I add all of the vegetables offered in the two extra bowls. On other mornings (the place I go to offers a different soup each morning), I have bánh canh, phở bò, bún mọc, hủ tiếu mì, or bò kho. All come with large portions of green leafy fresh vegetables that I add to the soup.

Lunch (ăn trưa) usually consists of a meat dish and a main vegetable dish, along with rice, and vegetable soup at the end.

On this day it was pork to be rolled in the lettuce and mint leaves, and then dipped in the fermented sauce. On most days, the meat dish is fish in various forms.

We have a wonderful cook in our office, and we all gather for lunch in the office together.

Our neighborhood is not very interesting for lunch places, so it is best to have lunch in the office. Without having to take time for traveling out of the office, a half hour is left for a good nap, which has made me a much more productive person throughout the afternoon.

On this day, the main dish was fried silkworms, which are very tasty.

The silkworms have a very distinctive taste and after-taste.

At home in the evening, my wife usually keeps dinner (ăn tối) light, which is fine with me.

On this evening, we had bánh cuốn, a rice-based very wide flat noodle (hidden underneath all of the vegetables) along with some chả, a processed meat consisting of pressed pork or fish.

We always have different fruits at lunch time and after dinner. I know I feel a lot better while in Vietnam, and I am sure it is because of the better diet. On the other hand, my wife and Vietnamese friends keep poking my ample tummy and suggesting I do something about it. Can't agree to cut off the nightly beer, though. But I have taken up walking to work and back every day -- we'll see if that helps.