Hoan Kiem Lake heritage adapts to new era

THE HANOI TIMES — Preserving the legacy of Hoan Kiem Lake for future generations requires a combination of conservation, heritage, development, and forward thinking.

Hoan Kiem Lake has significantly transformed in recent decades, particularly in the surrounding streets. However, the essential and fundamental values of the 3.5-hectare lake remain intact.

Its architecture, from the 19th century to the French colonial period and up to the present day, all blend. The most outstanding value is the harmony of the lake architecture, the surrounding streets, and the road surface, in the term I often use, "soft intermediate transformation".

There is a balance between the Vietnamese quarter and the French quarter, not a clash of styles. They all form part of the soul of the Hoan Kiem Lake area, making it charming.

The renovation of the Hoan Kiem Lake area must ensure a delicate symphony between water, land, trees, and roads so that none of the above elements are left out. Strong intervention in the landscape of the lake will distort and ruin its overall character. We need to understand the urban morphology very well to see what needs to be built or renovated so that the whole Hoan Kiem Lake remains harmonious.

“Shark Jaw” is not a heritage

Currently, the Hanoi government is raising the issue of demolishing the Shark Jaw building (formerly known as Place du Général Négrier) on Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square (named after a patriotic movement led by Vietnamese scholars and officials in the early 20th century).

When the building was built in the early 1990s, many of my colleagues and other experts reacted strongly. They said it broke the link between Hanoi's Old Quarter and the Hoan Kiem Lake area because it was starkly different from the surrounding architecture.

The Shark Jaw building has been there for more than 30 years and we are getting used to it, but we are not mistakenly calling it heritage. Objectively, this is too much of an intervention. Therefore, the building should be demolished to make way for the expansion of Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square. How much expansion is another issue that needs to be discussed, as Hoan Kiem Lake is not suitable for spaces that are too large, which will disrupt the overall harmony.

I think the area around Hoan Kiem Lake and the Old Quarter should be dealt with gently. We have to understand that Hanoi's culture is a gentle one. The Shark Jaw building does not fit in and must be removed.