Non-religious spiritual space for social cohesion in Vietnam

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My sincere gratitude . to my supervisor, Lee Miles, for all of his tremendous support and valuable guidance that make my one- year experience here an enjoyable one. . to my dad, my mom and my brother for being wonderfully supportive as always . to all of the informants for their immense enthusiasm and great inspirations that constantly inspired and encouraged me as attending my in-depth interviews.

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Declaration I, Vu Hoang Linh Pham, conďŹ rm that this work submitted for assessment is my own and is expressed in my own words.

Any uses made within it of the works of other authors in any form (e.g. ideas, equations, ďŹ gures, text, tables, programs, artefacts, samples, designs) are properly acknowledged at the point of their use.

A list of the references employed is included in the work.

Vu Hoang Linh Pham 13 August 2018 United Kingdom

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Abstract This report gives an overall view of the collective memory in Vietnamese society through historical periods, focusing on the transition of its pattern under the pressure of political and social changes since the end of the nineteenth century. While analyzing the nature of collectivism in the social structure from the very beginning and its conflict with the contemporary context, I noticed that the ignorance of individuals in its story has caused a confusion and contradiction between generations and inside themselves.

The more the Vietnamese try to be “opened” or “modern”, the more they become vague about their own identity on a personal and communal level. Under the political influences and manipulation, the interpretation of history and culture has been far from a bridge for the social gap but a stimulus to the disconnection in the collective memory. Given the use of qualitative primary data including in-depth interviews and case studies, my proposal is to utilize the power of architecture as a social medium in order to create a spiritual space for the non-religious but cultural purpose to enhance the social cohesion. The key concept of the design is based on my assumption that the journey in reactivating or regenerating shared values within a community is a circulation of collective memories with the focal point is the “informal” image of the village (lang), a primitive value of Vietnamese society in regardless of time. This journey should be, however, a personal experience placed in the social and cultural setting in which individuals are given a space for self-reflection and creating their own collective .memories by the social interactions

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4.

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Introduction • Aim and Objectives • Research Methodologies

Land and People • Vietnam in pre-colonial time • Vietnam in colonial time • Vietnam after 1975

Non-religious spiritual space within the framework of social concerns • Religion and spiritual life in Vietnamese society • Spatial experience as a sociocultural activity

Collective-cultural memory and social cohesion • Collective-cultural memory and its significance in the sphere of social cohesion • Social cohesion in Vietnamese society

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Case study • Berlin Jewish Museum and Ground Zero Memorial - The void of collective memory • “Informal public” social space and collective memories in the Vietnamese society

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7.

Conclusion Reference Bibliography

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Design solution • A dream of fragmented memories • Nguyen Hue Walking street • Design development • The underground park • The cultural area - A new approach to forgotten social places

NON-RELIGIOUS SPIRITUAL SPACE FOR SOCIAL COHESION IN VIETNAM design report

Vu Hoang Linh Pham MA Interior Architecture and Design Tutor I Lee Miles The School of Textiles and Design Heriot-Watt University United Kingdom

CONTENT

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INTRODUCTION The contemporary Vietnamese history was marked by a complex and bloody chain of political events in the early 20th century which was perceived as the main trigger to the transitions in the very foundation of the society: the end of the colonial wars, the return of peace in 1975, and the economic reform which is known as Doi Moi (Renovation) in 1986. Traditionally, the community shapes the core value of Vietnamese culture and this factor manipulates the perception of the Viet in every aspect of life.

However, in the times of globalization after 1975, in an attempt to adopt a new lifestyle from Western developed countries, young Vietnamese generation has been exposed to a new sense of individualism which emphasizes on the self- aggrandizement and distinctive attributions rather than collective benefits. Additionally, the series of abrupt 8

transitions in politics and economy happened in Vietnam over the last one hundred years had widened this gap between the generations in Vietnamese society by breaking down some fundamental values in culture and society. This transition time, consequently, has caused a disconnection in the collective memory between the young people and their parent’s generation.

In the context of contemporary Vietnamese architecture, a lot of efforts have been made in an effort to identify the cultural identity, which is struggling with the paradox between the tradition and the modern as a phenomenon of the universalization, just like most of the other countries in the world (Frampton 1992). These efforts, however, were mainly focused on the appearance of tradition rather than the spiritual aspect of social life in architecture. Spiritual spaces are, however, usually referred to the religious purpose due to its emotional impacts on the human mind. Yet, religion is not the only effective means to translate physical languages of an interior space into inner feelings because the most powerful spatial experience is “a private dialogue between the work and the viewer” (Juhani 2005).

Furthermore, when it comes to the social cohesion, there should be no religious boundary between people in the same country. As an agricultural society which required a close collaboration in every aspect of daily life, Vietnamese has been taught about the survival and human interconnections by collective values before they were separated by religious believes. Hence collective memories which could be considered as a stimulus in social cohesion has not been granted the weight it merits. Yet there is a critical factor of cultural memory- the individuality: “…it is perhaps at the moment when the individuals appear to care very little about a society that he develops in himself to the fullest qualities of a social being… People are always already social beings… what appears to be the most “personal” of experiences turns out to be thoroughly social.”(Meusburger et al. 2011) has been undermined from the very beginning.

In recent years, Interior Design has developed as a promising field in Vietnam. The target of designing an interior space is, however, simply considered as a creation of well- decorated spaces for commercial or entertainment purpose only. This adverse misperception not only in Vietnam but all around the world (Caan 2011) is retaining its 9

possibly profound influences in terms of society and culture whereas we are confronted with challenges for preserving and developing an identity in the international environment. There are many types of research which emphasized this spiritual interaction in the architectural aspect but not particularly focusing on interior design.

That is to say, the definition of spiritual spaces should be perceived in a broader context not only as a spatial experience in regards to religion but also as a means of cultural expression in which the outside world could be brought into the most intimate contact with the user’s mind through the senses.

Given the lack of the experiential engagement between the users and the space itself, interior spaces in Vietnam currently can only serve as spaces for physical activities rather than a place for contemplation and self- reflection. Despite the huge differences in lifestyle of two generations- the young and the older, spiritual linkages which have been instilled in the people who have been raised and grew up in the same country still endure in shape of cultural memories. On the other words, these spiritual values can only be reactivated when the people have a space for self-reflection to profoundly feel and perceive what has made them become social beings. By this means, a non- religious spiritual space for collective memory would potentially be a bridge to help the people reach their deepest essence as well as enhance the social cohesion in the contemporary social setting. (Figure 1).

Non- religious spiritual space for social cohesion in Vietnamese society

cultural - social setting

collective memory Figure 1. An overal view of the core concept

Figure 1 summarises the key concept for this research placed in the theme of social cohesion. The pressing social issues in Vietnamese society which will be identified and analysed in this report are the disconnection and losing shared memories in the society between the war generation, who were born before1975 and the post-war generation who were born after 1975. Hence, a spiritual space serving a non-religious purpose within a social frame is expected to be a viable solution for these social issues.

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The aim The aim of this research is to examine and explain the role of individuals in collective memory in the frame of Vietnamese society. By this means, the influence of interior space in the shape of spirituality over communal recollections will be evaluated in order to provide a feasible solution for the social cohesion. To be more specific, the final outcome of this research is to identify an appropriate approach in designing a spiritual space in regardless of religion but culture in order to enhance the social cohesion in Vietnam. Its application can be applied to cultural or public projects such as museums, cultural centre, memorials, parks, etc.

The objectives

To explain the major changes in the social structure due to the historical events since the end of the nineteenth century.

To explore and explain the social gaps in terms of collective memory in the contemporary society between the pre-war and post-war generations in Vietnam.

To demonstrate the significance of individuals in structuring the collective memory of Vietnamese society.

To explore the power of interior space as a cultural medium in reconstructing the collective- cultural memories in the Vietnamese social setting.

To propose a concept and a design strategy for a non- religious spiritual space in a specific type of building (it could be an interior space in a museum, memorial or cultural centre).

Research methodologies The major emphasis of the report is to examine the subjective perception of the users about the space and exploring the way a spiritual space can manipulate the feelings of people. Therefore, this research will use the interpretive approach based on qualitative data collection consisting of in-depth interviews and case studies.

The nature of the online interview will be semi-structured with a small number of Vietnamese who were born and grown up in Vietnam. This data collection method will have to meet the requirements of the research target by asking a series of predetermined but 11

open-ended questions. Meanwhile, this method will also give the researcher more space to be flexible in following topical trajectories in the conversation when she thinks it is necessary to gain a deeper understanding of the topic.

Non- religious spiritual space for collective memory is a new territory in Vietnamese architectural perception. Despite there is a number of religious buildings and some national memorials, museums or cultural centres built in Vietnam in the last forty years, most of them have placed themselves too much on the religious or political purposes rather than social concerns. Therefore, the first case study will be a brief analyse about the emotional connection between architecture and collective memory of Ground Zero Memorial in America and Jewish Museum Berlin in Germany. Both these projects are designed by American-Jewish architect Daniel Libeskind, who is well-known for the contemporary museum and commemorative projects that highlight the emotional engagement between the people and the architectural space. This part will focus on the symbolic meaning of their concepts: using the void in recalling traumatic memories.

The final outcome of this step is to generalize a spiritual approach to designing a new construction for collective/cultural memory.

The second case study is about the shared spaces that are utilizing with an unintentional function, constituting collective memory from personal recollections. As the result of this process, they are gradually transformed into “informal� social space. Given the profound changes in the social pattern of Vietnam, there are two typical informal public spaces in each period of time: the well and banyan tree in the Vietnamese village and the laneway in Vietnamese urban cities. The target of this research is to identify and understand the common behaviour pattern of the Viet in community participation.

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INTERVIEW SUMMARY a semi-structured interview will have to follow the guide (research questions) by asking a series of predetermined but open-ended questions to take over control of the topic. Meanwhile, the interviewer can be flexible in following topical trajectories in the conversation when she thinks it is necessary to gain a deeper understanding of the topic.

the target

Vietnamese who were born and live in Vietnam in most of their life so far.

the old generation who were borrn before 1975

the young generation who were born after 1975

research question

the social gap in perception, the lifestyle of two generations in Vietnamese society

the spiritual life of Vietnamese

spatial experiences which were strongly emotional to them.

Figure A. The interview target group and research questions

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Code

Year of Birth

Place of Birth

Current Address

Career

Length of Interview (minute)

2206_07

1953

DL_S

HCM_S

High school teacher

91

2106_08

1959

CT_S

HCM_S

University teacher

98

Old Generation

2606_09

1951

QN_C

HCM_S

Manager

40

2406_10

1956

HCM_S

HCM_S

Hotel manager

72

2906_11

1970

NB_N

HCM_S

Researcher

46

Young Generation

1606_01

1990

DL_S

HCM_S

52

2206_04

1987

HCM_S

HCM_S

3006_05

1983

HN_S

HCM_S

Teaching assistantDesigner Teaching assistantDesigner Construction manager

0107_06

1990

HCM_S

HCM_S

Accountant

113

HCMC: Ho Chi Minh city DL: Da Lat CT: Can Tho QN: Quang Ngai NB: Ninh Binh HN: Ha Noi

N: Northern Vietnam S: Southern Vietnam C: Central Vietnam

Figure B. The interviewees’ information

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Part 1: The social gap in Vietnamese society 1. What do you think about the gaps between generations in Vietnamese society?

Old generation: - Most of the interviewees stated that the differences come from the priority in their life: for the old generation, they think more about the collective benefits (family, company or country) while the youth tend to be more selfish, indifferent as their personal benefits are the most priorities to them.

- Additionally, in the education before 1975, moral values were the first lesson that children were taught in school meanwhile, the education after 1975 solely focuses on the knowledge. As a result of this, the young generation, in general, has a materialistic lifestyle with a faster-paced life. Some of them believed that the Vietnamese contemporary society is experiencing a moral breakdown.

- The youth, however, are appreciated with their fast adaptability with new technology and the ever-changing world. They are more active, innovative and willing to take risks for new experiences while the old people prefer a life with certainty.

Young generation - The young people assumed that their parents’ generation seems to be nostalgic and conservative to traditional values whilst many of these values are not fitted in the contemporary context.

- They also complained about the resistance of their parents in updating new foreign influences.

- However, the young interviewees also agreed that there should be a compromise among both generations to gain a mutual understanding.

- Their knowledge about the society before 1975 is arbitrary as they do not have any urge to search for it.

- Most of the informants admitted that they pay very little attention to politics and society whilst prefer spending their time on leisure activities with their friends instead.

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2. Do you think these differences can be a conflict in the society?

Old and young generation - This gap is labelled as an inevitable result of the sociopolitical transformation in Vietnam. Therefore, it is not a serious issue in the society.

- Most of the informants see the conflicts in the smaller-scale. They stated that the difference in thinking is provoking the arguments in the family between parents and their children. Sometimes, they can be bitter insofar as it can cause the tension in the familial relationship.

- Some of the old interviewees see the changes in the lifestyle of the youth as an asymmetry of moral values.

Part 2: The spiritual life of two generations and Vietnamese in general.

3. Have you ever felt or experienced any religious disparity in Vietnamese society before ?

Old and young generation - Most of the informants referred themselves to be atheists, but they still have a belief in the existence of ancestral souls and some of the Buddhist philosophies because these principles are believed to reflect a part of Vietnamese culture. From the view of these subjects, they do not feel any disparities between them and the religious people.

- On the other hand, for the people who are Christians, the religious disparity is visible particularly in the sphere of politics. They claimed that the religions are not encouraged to develop by the government. These differences on the whole, however, are not severe in terms of society.

- The atheists assume that most of Vietnamese share the same belief in ancestor worship regardless of their religion. Ancestor is the origin of a person.

Religion is not an essential part in Vietnamese culture but the indigenous beliefancestor worship.

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- With the Christians, they stated that they still believe in ancestral spirits and agreed that it is the root of a person but after God. 4. What do you think about the differences in the spiritual life of two generations?

Old generation - Spiritual life according to the understanding of the informants is music or literature. This entertainment of the pre-war generation before 1975 was firmly compressed due to the poverty and the censorship of the state. Some of them mention to the close relationship within the frame of an enclosed community like family or neighbourhood.

- All of them emphasized that moral standards are more highly respected by the old generation than the youth.

- From the perspective of most of the interviewees, the spiritual needs of the post-war generation are diverse but hollow and transient.

Young generation - The old generation shows more inclination toward social communication, sharing their private space with the others whilst the young tend to lock themselves into their own circle.

5. Do you think there are any shared values in the spiritual life of Vietnamese society?

Old and young generation - Familial bond with the expression as ancestor worship and patriotism is the common answer from the interviewees. However, this string is increasingly looser in the younger generation.

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Part 3: The spatial experience that strongly connected to inner feelings.

6. Describe a spatial experience that can touch your inner feelings?

Old and young generation - Most of them will refer to religious buildings (pagodas or churches) or their childhood place (house or hometown). Most of the young interviewees chose a modern building outside Vietnam (church, museum) whilst the olds tend to choose a place inside Vietnam.

- For the religious buildings, the first thing came to their mind was the harmony of the building with the surrounding landscape. Secondly, they were spacious, quiet and isolated from the hustle and bustle of the outside world.

- In the shape of a childhood place, memory was the main drive. The physical appearance of the place is also important in recalling the emotion about it.

They all stated that although the place can be physically changed by times, the emotional engagement between them and the place will be intact as long as its spirit is preserved.

- A young Christian choosing a modern church in Vietnam indicated that innovative change in church design should be encouraged as the traditional design of Vietnamese church is not effective in forging communal values and expressing the equality of parishioners in a parish.

7. What do you think about public spaces (museums, cultural centres, parks, etc.) in Vietnam?

Old and young generation - All of them agreed that the design of public space is boring and monotone.

- Parks looked unnatural, simply a concrete platform with some trees and benches and mainly utilized for commercial or political events.

- Museums and memorials were emotionless and hollow. Only some of the historic places (like Cu Chi Tunnel, Con Dao Prison, etc.) are valuable because of their historical authenticity and richness.

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LAND and PEOPLE Contemporary Vietnamese history was marked by a complex and bloody chain of political events in the 20th century which was perceived as the main trigger to the transitions in the very foundation of the society: the end of the colonial wars, the return of peace in 1975, and the economic reform Doi Moi in 1986 (figure 2).

pre- colonial time

colonial time

1858

feudalism

1954 Geneva Accords

contemporary time

1975

French colonialism

1986 Renovation S.R.V socialism

North D.R.V

South R.V.N

Figure 2. A chronical of important historical events 19

Vietnam in the pre-colonial time In the pre-colonial time, more than eighty per cent of the Vietnamese population worked and lived on farming jobs and most of the production was for their own consumption rather than the trade. Village (lang)- a relatively enclosed community was considered as a prototype of Vietnamese society to the core but at a smaller scale. Each village was surrounded by a bamboo hedge in order to protect it from the outside world. A communal house (dinh) located in the centre of the village was labelled as a spirit of the community, serving for social gatherings and spiritual practice. Due to the nature of an ancient agricultural society requiring a strong coordination, family and collective values were placed in the core of the society. An individual was tied with unbreakable bonds with his clan (toc) and family (gia dinh). That is to say, familial duties and obligations were the main driver and motivation in a personal life. There was no room for the individualism but a collectivism in an organized and hierarchy Vietnamese social system (McLeod 2001). In this spirit, people only found themselves in the sense of unity and mutuality to their own community. From this view, outsiders (dan ngu cu) were not welcomed in a village as they were criticized as strangers living beyond the collective values of a closeknit community. The marginalization of this group aroused a prejudice against immigration. In terms of education, the harmony in the community, particularly the strong family bonds not individual achievement was the first lesson being instilled in a child’s perception of the world. This “collectivist� social system- as the way the German social scientist Ferdinand Tonnies described: a society based on a system of common identities was built on shared physical and spiritual values (Nisbett 2003).

Vietnam in colonial time In 1858, French troops landed at Da Nang, marking a colonial period under the domination of French. The tutelage of French colonialism had fanned the flame of social tensions and conflicts, consequently led to resistance in several stages. During this time, the whole country was thrown into a serious disorder by the bloody strikes for the independence of the communist Vietnam Independence League (Viet Minh) against the French regime. In 1954, after being defeated at the major battle in Dien Bien Phu valley, France agreed to sign with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (D.R.V)- founded

by Viet Minh, the Geneva Accords dividing the country into two provisional military zones to North and South of Seventeenth Parallel. The proclamation of the Republic of Vietnam (R.V.N) in the South with military and economic support from the United 20

States became an anti-communist force in order to contain the D.R.V in the North. This division broke down Vietnamese society into two extremes. Consequently, there was a massive population movement of Viet Minh cadres to the North while most Vietnamese Catholics to the South. Many people were forced to leave their homeland, separated from their families and moved to a new land with an inferiority complex about being an exclusive member of a new community. Hence, the collapse of social unity begot a diasporic generation from the obsession of bereavement and nostalgia.

In the North, the Vietnamese were bombarded with ubiquitous campaigns from the authority to propagandize for their sacrifices and martyrdom such as the The Three Readies: “Ready to join the arm forces, to fight and to fight well Ready to overcome difficulties and step up work production and studying Ready to go anywhere and do anything required by the Fatherland.” (Templer 1999) or Three Builds and Two Antis: “Build up working attitude, respect and good behaviour Anti-theft and unwholesome behaviour in boy-girl relations.” (Templer 1999) Meanwhile, in South Vietnam, R.V.N invoked American pop culture as a spiritual weapon to distract the public attention from political troubles. However, the war was an undeniable presence and the perception of this reality with a uselessness was afterwards interpreted as a melancholy phenomenon in the middle-class youth in Saigon.

In general, the generation who were born before 1975 from both sides was suffered from the uncertainties and the spectre of death as an essential part of daily life. Human life became ephemeral and the sense of being an appendage of a larger entity was appeared to be the safe harbour for the soul as giving them lofty and realistic targets to aim for.

Vietnam after 1975 After the collapse of R.V.N in the spring of 1975, the whole country was reunified with the establishment of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V) and the capital was placed in Hanoi. However, the process of emerging two antagonistic regimes did 21

not run smoothly, particularly in the condition of an exhausted economy. Given the strict socialist approach in terms of economy and society, the implementation of nationalization industry and agricultural collectivization could not improve but exacerbate the situation. Under the influence of Marxism, class differentiation was considered as the main cause of polarization. Subsequently, all of the material and spiritual needs of individuals were discouraged and pared down to the minimum with the same degree for everyone while the government took a full control of all production activities and in every aspect of the personal life. As with a little contact with the outside world, the amenities and entertainment of people were limited to occasional art events under the tutelage of the state.

In the realm of spiritual life, while Marxism and Communism were propagated as a mainstream ideology, traditional customs and spiritual practice was criticised as “feudal remains” or “superstitious”. The materialism as one of the tenets of communism was harnessed as a legitimate excuse to strictly monitor religious activities in the public sphere (Bouquet 2010). Under the centralized control of the government, the national history in more than four thousand years is deliberately shortened and remarked by the establishment of the Vietnamese Communist Party. The interpretation of Vietnamese national history has been subjectively reshaped and oversimplified as a tradition of fighting against foreign invaders while cultural and moral values were subsided to be a secondary concern. In other words, education was regarded as a useful means to equate the benefit of government and nation: patriotism and martyrdom were disseminated for the sake of the Party, the volume of individual griefs and personal emotions were turned down in order to emphasize the national goals. In this spirit, museums and memorials were designed to promote a heroic but monochrome image of the country to the entire world (Templer 1999). Therefore, they became unfamiliar with the locals but interesting to curious tourists.

Facing the reality that the country was sliding into the depths of a recession, in 1986, a political and economic reform named Doi Moi was launched in an attempt to increase the national production via opening markets to free trade but still remained the protagonist role of the state in politics. Although this transition had opened some doors for the Vietnamese to the outside world, the abrupt break down of social and economic barriers in a society that had been tightly controlled for thousand years caused underlying disconnections among the community. More than fifty per cent of the Vietnamese population was born after 1975 due to the significant increase in the fertility rate (Templer 1999). The young people for the first time experienced the feeling of disintegration 22

with their parents’ generation- the generation of war who had a very limited knowledge of the entire world.

Yet the intrusion of popular culture from the Western countries raised the bewilderment and then the anxieties among the young people as it highlighted the injustices and the contradictions in their country. The ignorance of their own history was taken as a form of protest to express their impuissance and disappointment with the reality (Marr 1984). Hence the cultural identity has become a vague and exotic notion for the youngsters and traditional values have been somehow equated with the main cause of the social conflicts.

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“architecture is atmosphere�

- Daniel Libeskind-

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Non-religious spiritual space within the framework of social concerns Religions and spiritual life in Vietnamese society In spite of its geographic location in Southeast Asia, there is a common misconception among the Western scholars that Vietnam is originally a part of Sino-sphere, as William J. Duiker stated in his book Vietnam- Revolution in Transition that: “For nearly ten centuries, the Vietnamese almost seemed to style themselves as a carbon copy of China.� (Duiker 1995) Traditionally, it was believed that the flow of culture was initially started in the Near East and then spread to India and China before being adopted in Southeast Asia afterwards. In fact, in the last decades, there are many archaeological excavations indicated that Southeast Asia, not India or China was the cradle of cultivating plants, making pottery and casting bronze- criteria of a primitive culture beginning thousands of years earlier than in the Near East, India or China (Solheim 1971). That is to say, the cultural space of Vietnamese culture from the very beginning was constructed in the context of Southeast Asian culture which could be a reasonable explanation for the basic distinctions between Vietnamese and Sinitic culture: if in Sinitic culture, family plays the crucial role in the social structure, clan and community are put in first in Vietnamese cul25

ture (Tran 1996). However, during the era of Chinese domination lasted for nearly one thousand years from the last century B.C.E, Chinese influence along with the intrusion of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism placed a huge impact on Vietnamese society in all aspects. Despite that, the Viet did not fully assimilated into Chinese culture but retained the spiritual patterns from their indigenous culture and blend them together. On that ground, although Vietnam has a religious diversity with most of the major religions in the world: Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Hinduism, the religious segregation has never been a social trouble. In practice, most of the Vietnamese share the same belief (Nguyen and Kendall 2003) as Leopold Cadière, a French missionary of Paris Foreign Missions Society who spent decades to observe and research about local religions in Vietnam, wrote: “Vietnam’s true religion is the cult of spirits. This religion has no history because it dates from the origins of the race.”(Templer 1999) “The cult of spirits” mentioned here is an indigenous belief, which is well-known as Animism, that spiritual beings inhibit in nature. Given the fundamental nature of an ancient agricultural society mostly depended on the climate, the Viet showed their respect for natural elements in order to avoid disasters and wish for wealth and peace.

Moreover, one of the most crucial expressions of this belief is in the ancestor worship.

This spiritual custom is shared among the majority of the Viet of all faiths (figure 3): it is believed that after death, spirits of deceased ancestors still exist in this world to supervise and protect their descendants’ well-being. In other words, the familial bonds (in the sphere of the clan) will go beyond the death and pass on generation to generation.

Though and Religion Indigenous belief Animism - Ancester Worship Chinese/Indian influence Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism Western influence Christianity Figure 3. Thought and religious hierarchy in Vietnamese society 26

Spiritual space as a social activity The origin of architecture is believed to evolve from a natural cave to a primitive block as a shelter. Human beings from the beginning thought about architecture as space within to protect themselves from nature or to give them a sense of safety. This insideout evolution, however, is reversed nowadays by the domination of exterior form rather than the interior experience. The knowledge about a building seems to come from the eye-catching images of its envelope, leaving an ignorance to the feeling of inhabiting the building itself. Hence, the term “interior space” in the architectural shape should not be isolated in an enclosed shell but expanded to the whole space that people actually connect with it mentally and emotionally- the space within (McCarter 2016). The “fundamental connection to human nature” of interior space in the sense of psychology is, however, gradually marginalized by the hegemony of physical needs nowadays (Caan 2011). It is important to understand that these emotional effects are the reason explaining how the interior space can cue memories and thereby human behaviours in an unexpected way. The power of the space within is not limited in its aesthetic form but in the way how people inhabit and interact with by all senses. As Patrick Nuttgens depicted in his book The Story of Architecture, the root of architecture is growing deeply from the personal history of everybody (Nuttgens 1983). By this means, experiences and then memories of a person are shared with his contemporaries, constructing the collective values in a community by times. These communal values are the archetype of culture (Robinson 2006). Culture is meaningful only when it is placed in a proper social context.

This undetachable relationship demonstrates the primary purpose of architecture and particularly interior space as a social medium.

In Vietnam, the perception of architectural design or interior design in a professional way seems to be solely shaped by the materialistic contribution. Consequently, when the interviewees were asked about the design of public spaces, they all expressed an indifference towards its existence. Museums and public commemorations were seen as a political propaganda under the eyes of the public. This blatant manipulation, in contrast, gave the public more incentives to disparage officially proclaimed narratives from the state (Can 2017). All of the informants from both generations complained that the design of these commemorative places was boring and hollow, a waste of money and space for these meaningless constructions. Meanwhile, when it came to the question about spatial experiences as a strong emotional connection, there was an opposite pattern in the response of the informants. If the professionals solely emphasized the struc-

27

tural elements of the space and its aesthetic aspect, the normal people first mentioned their emotions and how they felt about that space. These answers were referred to their childhood place (house or town) or ritual spaces (old church or ancient pagoda) which were mostly constructed by “unprofessional architects”. The space from their memories was appeared to be an “atmosphere”, a boundless space in which all of its structural elements were blended together, creating a synthesis, a genius loci (the spirit of the place). They all stated that although the place can be physically changed with the times, the emotional engagement between them and that place will be intact as long as its spirit is preserved.

“the task of architecture is to make visible how the world touch us” - Juhani Pallasmaa-

A spiritual space, from my point of view, can be any spaces, public or private, commercial or ritual, as long as its inner language can be interpreted in emotional feelings of the audiences and reach out to their deepest essence. Most of the interviewees affirmed that early childhood memories had a profound impact on their mind, it manipulated the way how they recall the places they visited. The power of this “pure experience”, explained

by Juhani Pallasmaa, came from the authenticity of the way they experienced the world from the very beginning (Nesbitt 1996). This element is harnessed in preserving historic places and also in new constructions. Authenticity is, however, not only appeared in the shape of artefacts but also in the intangible form of interpretation, giving the audience a space to perceive it by all senses. Rustic materials give a sense of closeness as the user can actually feel its by touching smelling. Natural lighting is appreciated as it has a smell of nature, they can feel it by the changing of temperature in their skin. People love tranquillity, not because of the absence of noise but because only at that moment, the voice of everything around them become clearer than ever.

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Collective-Cultural memories and social cohesion Collective-cultural memory and its significance in the form of social cohesion Memory as Jan Assmann depicted in Communicative and Cultural Memory (Meusburger et al. 2011) is a series of images as a result of a sedimentation of actions or events happened in the past. From the beginning, memory was solely examined as a product of the neuro-psychical system with the root deep in the unconsciousness of the human psyche rather than an active part in social life. Only when Maurice Halbwachs discovered the decisive role of socialization and communication in constructing the memories, human memories is now analyzed under the light of social life as the primitive 29

social bond. That is to say, human memory functions as a connective structure for developing a narrative of identity in personally and collectively.

Collective memory from the definition of Maurice Halbwachs or Jan Assmann is representations of the past that are memorized by a community. Meanwhile, cultural memory is a form of collective memory in that a group of people share the same values in the realm of tradition and culture, described by Sturken, cited in Cultural Memories, as: “memory that is shared outside the avenues of formal historical discourse yet is entangled with cultural products and imbued with the cultural meaning�

(Meusburger et al. 2011) Christina West took a step further in schematizing the mnemonic process into three dimensions of memory in her research Memory- Recollection- Culture- Identity- Space: Social context, Identity Formation, and Self-construction of the Cale in Spain. As can be seen in figure 4, in the individual level, communicative memories are constructed bottom-up from personal memories of the daily life and everyday interaction before being generalized into a collective possession. Therefore, these memories are generational, transient and volatile. In the meantime, these collective recollections when are embedded in the cultural sphere and then exist as archived artefacts such as narratives, songs, poems, symbols, etc, they eventually become cultural memories. By this mean, cultural memories are institutional, persistent and consolidating. socialization

communication

individual memory

Figure 4.

The interrelationship between individual memory, collective memory and cultural memory

collective memory (generation)

communicative memory (generation) 30

cultural memory (institution)

Social cohesion in Vietnamese contemporary society During the colonial time, the political conflict and spatial disparity were considered the main cause of the discontinuity of collective memories in Vietnamese society. In the North and South Vietnam, the perception of citizens was systematically manipulated by the political discourse so that the image of each side was deliberately demonized under the eyes of their counterparts. This paraconsciousness, the misconception due to social conflicts (Sabelli 1998) consequently broke down the social cohesion insofar as the social ideologies were changed to the core. As the war ended in 1975, the reconciliation, sadly, had not been processed by the unified government. Very little attempts at promoting the mutual understanding for the reciprocal commitment had been made in this transition period. In contrast, the totalitarian system of the party- state tried to mould the public consciousness into an “official” history by suppressing the existing cultural memories. Atheism went against the ritual beliefs and practices of the Vietnamese and cultural identity was oversimplified and re-shaped into the frame of the heroic fightings against foreign invaders. Moreover, revolutions in the school curriculum solely emphasized on materialism and economic production for public ownership while privacy and individual were heavily criticized as a bourgeois thinking, encouraging the polarization in the society. Public ownership, however, did not help to bridge the existing gap in collective memories but became a new obstacle in this sphere. David Middleton and Steven D. Brown cited Halbwachs, that: “Sociality is not grafted onto subjective experience; it is, rather, the very basis on which one’s sense of individuality is structure. People are always already social beings.”

(Meusburger et al. 2011) In this regard, the mnemonic process of a community was constructed on the basis of individual memories and these personal recollections seem to tie the members to the group that they are belonging to. It is claimed that what differentiates the memory of human beings and other animals is its autonoetic function, in which an individual is able to characterize his identity and at the same time orient himself in the relationship with his contemporaries within the social frame.: “Only individuals remember, and all experience is individual.”

(Meusburger et al. 2011)

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Given the marginalization of cultural knowledge and moral values due to the politicalized education system, the social and cultural fabric of memory were degraded. The suppression of individual values only resulted in a fragmented multiplicity of collective recollection. During this period, if the young people were born with a vague consciousness about themselves, the older generation had to live in a dichotomy between dissolving themselves into the public and recalling themselves from the recent past with a nostalgia. As the abrupt transformation in society since the Renovation in 1986 so far, despite some positive changes in material and spiritual life in the society, the Vietnamese from both generations are experiencing an uncertainty about their identity and their true motivation in their life. The rapid rise of individualism, an “exotic� notion, is more like an imitation among the majority of the young people in order to integrate into the Western modernization rather than an in-depth mental revolution. The image of the youth is, thereby portrayed by the pre-war generation as cynical rebellions while the nostalgia and deep roots in the past have stopped the older generation from stepping out of their comfort zone and adopt new values in the new era (figure 5). pre-colonial time

the hegemony of collectivity

colonial time

the polarization of collective values

reunion time

1975- 1986

the compression of inviduality

1986- now

the penetration into individualism

Figure 5. The transition in the pattern of collective memory in Vietnamese society 32

In the complex context of Vietnamese contemporary society, utilizing memories as an essential catalyst for social cohesion, therefore, should be built up bottom-up, from the inner level to social level before reaching the cultural dimension. Most of the informants from the interview showed a hesitation and confusion as expressing their own experiences as well as their inner feelings from daily interactions. That is to say, the current memories of the Vietnamese are not effective in helping them solve this question. This issue could be explained that the government has paid little attention in setting a proper social and cultural frame for memory.

Case study

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Berlin Jewish Museum Ground Zero Memorial - The void of collective memory In The destruction of memory- Architecture at war, Robert Bevan observes how collective memories embedded in buildings through the architectural destruction as an ethnic cleansing. Even though, the buildings do not have their own memories but they do carry the memories of a community invested in them. This investment is the reason for their very existence in a societal context.

Therefore, the demand for preservation or reconstruction is a natural reaction to protect the memory. Collective memory, however, is a continuous process rather than a result at a certain point. Therefore, in some 34

“it is not only the visible, apparent history that you can photograph, but it’s the non-apparent history that is to do with the people whose voices are still there.”

(Daniel Libeskind)

From left to right Figure 6 (above). The master plan of Ground Zero memorial (Vinnitskaya 2012) Figure 7 (below). Libeskind’s hand sketch explains the meaning of the “void” (Vinnitskaya 2012) Figure 8 (below). The waterfall pool (Vinnitskaya 2012)

cases, the rebuild of a destroyed building may encourage the forgetting of its presence.

(Bevan 2006). In this regard, the concept for the Ground Zero memorial in the World Trade Center is not to fill the void but to reserve its absence. The Memorial consists of two large square pools with waterfalls cascading into the centre. Most of the site is devoted to the public visually and acoustically by the foliage and the sound of the waterfalls while the new buildings are put on the periphery. The memory of the place is recalled and reconstructed by the memorizing of its own community.

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In the case of the Jewish Museum Berlin, traumatic memories about the Holocaust is interpreted by the silence and emptiness. As one of the first “experimental museum�, the inauguration of this museum was in fact marked by the construction completion in 1999, long before the emergence of exhibitions inside in 2001(Reeh 2016). At that time, the building was opened and exhibited for the public visit as an entity itself.

Figure 9 (right).

The contradiction in the appearance of two buildings (Libeskind) Figure 10 (left).

Aerial view of the museum (Libeskind)

The museum surprises the visitors by the distinct contradiction of two freestanding structures in the appearance between the old and new, the classic and modern but deeply connected to each other by an underground entrance from the existing building to the extension museum.

The whole journey is divided into three different routes that each of them will end up with a singular destination: The Garden, The Holocaust Void and the Memory Void.

These spaces I would define as a spiritual space in which its story is told by the place itself.

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Figure 11,12. The Garden of Exile (Libeskind)

The Garden is an upside down outdoor space with 48 concrete columns on the sloping surface.

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The Holocaust Void is a completely plain room with 27 meter high (figure 13). When the heavy metal door is closed behind, the visitors are suddenly embraced only by the darkness.

The natural reactions are recorded from most of them is looking up to search for the only source of natural light coming from a narrow line in the ceiling (figure 14, 15). People, for the first time perhaps, can experience a real-time prison as a forever dead end in the journey of the murdered Jewish.

Figure 13 (above, left). The Holocaust Void (Libeskind).

Figure 14 (below, left). The reaction of visitors inside the space.

Figure 15 (below, right). Natural light from the ceiling.

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Figure 16 (above, right). The Memorial Void Figure 17 (below, left). The Shalekhet (Fallen Leaves)- an installation of Israeli artist Menashe Kadishman

The Memorial Void (figure 16) is a space “between the lines�, its floor is covered by over 10,000 faces of soundless screams (the Fallen Leaves). This space is described as a living creature awaken by the interaction of the visitors with the installation: the echoes of clanging sounds when they step on the metal pieces recall a sense of exile (figure 17).

There is no specific answer for all of these experiences which can only be filled in by the personal emotions. In other words, the visitors are free to feel and memorize the place by all of their senses and their emotions become a sole string tieing them to space. In this regard, the meaning of a collective memory does not rest on the past but always exists in the present as a succession and design for collective memory should come from the respect of its own reality.

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“Informal public” social space and collective memories in the Vietnamese society Given the distinct characteristic of an agricultural culture, Vietnamese society is often perceived in the shape of collectivism. This ideology, in some ways, eliminated the role of individuals and private life in the contribution of collective and cultural memory. In truth, memory can only be recalled by individuals and collective memory is a synthesis image of personal recollections as Arab architect Hassan Fathy wrote in his book Architecture for the poor- a reflective report from his sustainable housing project New Gourna Village in Egypt: “When we consider a society, we see that it is a pattern of such individualities and, more important, that each individual is the creation of the rest.” (Fathy 1973) The individuality is not a vague quality but visible details that can be observed from the routine of the inhabitants in their daily life, the base of the spiritual life in a community.

In this regards, instead of looking into the formal spiritual edifices, I decided to identify the pattern of collective memory at the individual level, choosing the symbols that deeply rooted in the culture and oral literature of the Viet.

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The well and banyan tree in the Vietnamese village Village (lang) was the basic unit of Vietnamese society which can be seen from the term “lang nuoc” (referring to the country). This is a combined word in which the notion “lang” come first. In the other words, the village was a small-scaled isolated world in the regards of self-sufficiency and homogeneity. Within the bamboo hedge, besides the communal house (dinh), a formal social space hosting festivals and ritual activities, the well and the banyan tree are two totemic places that truly reflecting the everyday life of the villagers. The crucial distinction between these places is in the sphere of social hierarchy: if the attendance to the communal house was traditionally implied as a priority for men, the well and banyan tree was a symbol of equality in which the access was opened for everyone regardless the ages, gender or social position (Tran 1996).

Besides its physical function as a fresh water supply and reservoir for the whole village, the well or wharf also served as a gathering point for many mundane socializing activities: adults go there for meeting up and exchanging stories in their daily life while doing the laundry and children utilized it as a playground (figure 18, 19).

Figure 18 (above). A well in a Nothern village (Thuy) Figure 19 (below). A well with 2 meters deep and 20 meters in diameter in Uoc Le village, Hanoi (Thuy) 41

Banyan tree was used to plant near the entrance of the village. Given the life-long span (up to hundred years) and huge shadow, the tree served as a stop for the peasants on the way to the paddy field or the meeting point of the villagers with the outsiders. The tree, in the other words, became a bridge connecting the village with the outside world. Unlike the bamboo hedge separating the village with the entire world, a banyan tree is a symbolic object for the hospitality and longevity of a homogenous community.

Figure 20 (above, right). A banyan tree planted near a village’s entrance gate (Lien 2011) Figure 21 (above, left). A typical image of a village in a work of arts with a banyan tree, communal house and a well.

Figure 22 (below, left). Children are playing under the shadow of a 500-year old banyan tree in Yen Lac village, Hanoi (Bich 2014) 42

The laneway in the Vietnam urban city Since the end of the nineteenth century, the role of the village has become less and less important in the social structure, the massive population movement from village to city during and after the wartime has placed a huge burden on the housing issue in urban cities. For this cause, public space has been subdued to the secondary concern in urban planning. Consequently, a changing use of social space among urbanites has been recorded in the shape of the space “between” within the busy residential area such as laneway (hem) (Earl 2010). The flexibility in its function, shifting from public to private, from day to night delineate its “informal” quality.

Laneway is a narrow space or a connecting pathway in some cases between two buildings which is usually utilized as a platform for small family businesses and neighbourhood gathering. It is public in the regard of the openness but private in the use of the inhabitants. Despite the limited dimensions, this is the place where news and gossip are spread out as well as socializing activities are taken place in a variety of levels and forms. It is said that the image of each laneway can reflect the character of each neighbourhood to a certain extent, giving a glimpse at the daily life of the urbanites.

In general, the informal social space encouraged the social interaction and communication between independent individuals beyond the state control or suppression within the social frame.

Hence, the structure of collective memory built up from such spaces is bottom-up, reflect both individual and communal quality within a social setting. It also explains the main drive of collective memory in Vietnamese society stemmed from the personal desire to be inclusive in their own community (village or neighbourhood) and this string gives them a strong sense of belonging.

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Figure 23, 24. Laneways in Ho Chi Minh city- a place for eating out and gossiping (Wright 2015)

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UNDERGROUND CULTURAL CENTER A dream of fragmented memories “It (dreaming) is one of those rare moments when we succeed in isolating ourselves completely, since our memories, especially the earliest ones, are indeed our memories…

Society seems to stop at the threshold of interior life… it is perhaps at the moment when the individual appears to care very little about a society that he develops in himself to the fullest qualities of a social being.”

Maurice Halbwachs (Meusburger et al. 2011) The inspiration of the design comes from the concept about the individuals and the society. It is interesting to discover the role of childhood memories (from the interviews) in recalling a sense of a place in its deepest essence. Childhood recollections are a sort of the interpretation of the dreaming in the regards of “purity”. In other words, what keeps these memories vivid in regardless of time is the spiritual belief in authentic feelings. It is often said that a dream is simply a multiplicity of hallucinations or a distorted reality from unconsciousness. I, however, believe that only when dreaming, the individual has a chance to be confronted with his himself, a journey into the interior of his own world.

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context

problem

the pattern of collective memory in Vietnamese society

disconnection in collective memory

fragmented memories solution

childhood memories

reconciliation mutual understanding respect

“pure experience�

concept

dreaming Figure 25. A diagram of the key concept

Given the complexity of Vietnamese society which is analysed in the previous chapters, the outcome of the interviews with the Vietnamese from two generations reflected an opposite in their perception about each other. Each generation is holding their own collective memories, only shared by their counterparts. Even though it is undeniable that the gap in generations’ conception is a natural progression of development, a reconciliation in the context of Vietnam is essential for social cohesion. It is not an attempt to resolve the contradictions but to understand and respect the distinctions of each generation (figure 25).

Unlike museum or memorial in which the past is kept and exhibited as an unchangeable object, my aim is to create a platform in which the locals play an active role in reactivating and regenerating their own collective memories together. By this means, this cultural centre is expected to be a living organism which is able to sustain the continuity in collective memory while keep growing up with the radical changes in the community. The individuals are encouraged to interact with each other but at a personal level, a public space for personal experiences.

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Nguyen Hue walking street Nguyen Hue walking street is located in the centre of district 1 as one of the main streets in Ho Chi Minh city (figure 25). This broad street connects the City Hall to the Saigon River. Along with this axis, the development process in the architecture of the city can be observed visually by the dramatic change in the appearance of buildings: French colonial architecture- post-socialist condominium housing and modern skyscrapers (figure 26, 27, 28).

Figure 26. Site map of Nguyen Hue Walking street

From left to right Figure 27. City Hall and other French colonial buildings Figure 28. The middle along side of the broad promenade is old condominiums Figure 29. Saigon River and modern skyscrappers 47

Design development This is a busy area serving for both commercial and cultural purpose: office buildings, restaurants, coffee shops, galleries, museums. Therefore, the target users are diversity from ages, careers and purpose of use. Figure 29 depicts the main purposes of the use of each group.

office employee

middle-aged and old people

young people

tourist

immediate greeny space for a short break flexible platform for street/ art performance meeting point for group gatherings cultural exploration peaceful and quiet space for a strolling or contemplation Figure 30. The target users and the main purpose of use

As being asked about the design of Nguyen Hue Walking street, all of the interviewees complained that it is too plain. Due to the hot climate of Ho Chi Minh city, this empty space becomes unbearable under the glare of sunlight. Most of them suggested having more different spaces for different activities which are available for everyone to approach. In this regard, my proposal is to divide this space into two different levels: the existing function (walking street) remains for the ground floor while the underground level consists of two distinct areas, indoor and outdoor. The indoor area is the main cultural area while outdoor space is an underground public park. Given the inspiration from the historic transition projected onto in the appearance of architecture in this site, the project is designed as a theme park. The users are given a chance to experience various spatial changes as a journey to the underground to discover a forgotten sociocultural asset: collective memories (figure 30).

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French colonial buildings Post-sociolist condominium housing Modern high-rise buildings

Saigon River

City Hall

Elevation

Floor plan

cultural area (new design)

park (new design)

pedestrian area (keep the existing area)

Section

Figure 31. The connection between the site context and the site planning 49

0.000

Spiritual space

Exhibition area (for temporary exhibitions) -5.400

Cultural area 50

Entrance (to cultural centre) -4.500 -6.000

Ground floor plan

Underground floor plan

0.000

Section

-1.500 -3.000

Figure 32. Site planning

Park 51

Figure 33 (above). Under the bridge Figure 34 (below). Detail of the water pool Figure 35 (next page, above).

Underground floor plan and sketch Figure 36 (next page, below).

Under the bridge with the outdoor elevator

The Underground Park 52

Immediate space for a short break which can be easily and quickly approached from the street.

The park is detached from the surroundings so that people can escape from the hustle and bustle of the busy city.

A bridge to connect two sides of the street and link to the underground park

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The Cultural area- A new approach to forgotten social places In the second case study, I examined the position of “informal� social spaces in Vietnamese culture and society. The memories they carried could be both shared by a community (a neighbourhood or a village) and experienced as a personal memory as the individuals could easily find themselves projected onto it. They were no longer a space but a place with the memories embedded in it (Coles and House 2007). In the time of globalization, the existence of these places has been, however, fading away and becoming a nostalgia in the memory of the old generation. Therefore, the theme of this cultural area is about the forgotten places. I decide to approach it at the individual level, starting with the symbol of childhood memory- a traditional house (figure 38). Inside the cultural space, there are two separated areas: a large room, designed as a recollection of a typical residential area after the Doi Moi, serves for temporary exhibitions and an indoor water pool is functioned as a spiritual space for self-reflection (figure 36).

the well and banyan tree personal and collective memory public space (modern time) - spiritual space -

end point

village starting point

a home childhood memory private space (pre-colonial time) - entrance -

laneway collective memory semi/informal public space (post-colonial time) - exhibition area Figure 37. The circulation of collective memory 54

Figure 36 depicts the journey of collective memory in which village is the starting point where the childhood memory stems from. After that, collective memories are constructed in informal public space such as laneway. At the end of the journey, the image of the well and banyan tree as a social meeting point highlighting a message that the journey of fragmented memories is, in fact, an excavation the existing but forgotten communal values in order to get a mutual understanding between generations and transform them in a new existence.

A traditional house in a Vietnamese village is characterized by simpleness in materials and details: local materials (bamboo, wood, water palm, fired red brick, etc), overhanging eave, several wooden framed window, pounded earth or red brick square floor (Hickey 1967). The house is usually surrounded by an orchid or a small lotus pond nearby.

Figure 38 (right). A wood-tile traditional house in the village (Hickey 1967) Figure 39 (left). The entrance to the cultural area. It is designed as a small traditional house with a lotus pond in front of.

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Figure 40. Floor plan of exhibition area

Laneway- a narrow space between buildings is an informal social space in which the socializing can be observed in various levels and forms. The whole space is divided into smaller areas but all connecting to each other (figure 39).

If laneway connects members within a community, the courtyard is a gate opening to the outside world (figure 40).

Courtyard 1 Courtyard 2

Figure 41. Section showing the courtyard 57

Figure 41 (above). Old condominiums in Hanoi (Nguyen 2015) Figure 42 (below). A communal house in Hanoi (Tran)

Brick wall painted in saffron yellow colour

Fired red brick

Combining and utilizing the local/traditional materials as well as some distinct architectural details from different times to evoke a sense of familiarity but not exactly mimic the traditional architecture.

Wooden framed window with wooden bars

Square red brick for floor

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The wall only cover partly of the columns

The visitors can immerse themselves into the digital visualization of the moving images of Vietnam through time, created by projectors. The whole space becomes an installation itself.

Figure 44 (above). Indoor view to the courtyards.

Figure 45 (above, right). Exterior view of courtyard 2.

Figure 46 (below, right). Exterior view of courtyard 1.

Figure 47 (below, left). The installation Colours of life from teamLab, Japan (teamLab 2018).

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Figure 48 (left). The installation with mirror partitions Figure 49 (right). Floor plan of the spiritual area

Fragmented memories The visitors can watch documentaries about the daily life of the Vietnamese years ago on the digital screen which is linked to a physical installation. this installation is constructed by mirror partitions, a piece of memory, which are organized and planned to create a maze in which the participants can see their own reflection in the relationship with the others. mirror partition digital screen

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Figure 50 (above). The pathway leading to the installation Figure 51 (left). The interaction between the space and the climate

Lying within the tropical monsoon belt, Ho Chi Minh city has two major seasons: dry and rainy season. The holes on the ceiling allow the sunlight and rainwater getting through, creating different visual phenomena so that the underground space can alter itself according to the climate change 61

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The totemic image of the well and banyan tree are combined into an oasis block in the centre of the spiritual space as a symbol of social cohesion.

The end of the journey is a come back of a cultural value from the very beginning of the Viet- village but in a new existence.

Figure 52 (previous page). The oasis block Figure 53 (above, centre). From the installation to the oasis Figure 54 (above, left). Concept of the oasis block Figure 55 (below, left). The way out between the water falls.

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CONCLUSION The historical events at the end of the nineteenth century have caused a profound change in the social structure of Vietnamese society: the disconnection between generations in the form of collective memory.

Consequently, the social cohesion is threatened by the lack of mutual understanding and the ignorance of cultural values.

The nature of collective memory in Vietnamese society stem from the communal values. However, under the pressure of economic and social transition since the Doi Moi, it is crucial to adopt a new approach in the sphere of collectivism: the role of individuals in the social setting merits careful attention from the government as well as in the perception of society as 64

collective memory is initially built up from the individual level. By this means, the attempt to bridge the gap between generations has to be a bottom-up process, starting from a thoughtful research into the personal perception within a social frame.

The power of interior space as a social medium comes from its direct and intimate interaction to people physically and particularly emotionally. Equally importantly, the existence and significance of architecture or interior space are based on the memory that people invested in it. In this regard, a spiritual space should convey its own inner language as a bridge to connect and encourage social interactions at both individual and collectivity level.

The key concept of my design is from the circulation of collective memory. The gap between generations is an inevitable corollary of the development process. Therefore the social reconciliation is not to resolve the problem but to get a mutual understanding and respect the differentiation between generations. The past need to be constantly examined and transformed with a critical thinking. In this regards, the village- a cultural value presenting for the collective spirit of the Viet need to be respected and reactivated in a new existence. The whole journey emphasises on the personal experience as a starting point and finally ends up with a collective experience.

In conclusion, this research proved that self-reflection is crucial to understand the position of each individual in their community and to realize that people are always a social being from the deepest essence. Attacking, dismissing or simply ignoring the past will only encourage the forgetting and losing identity.

Limitations and recommendations This is a vast and complex territory as it requires a holistic and multidisciplinary approach to the individual and social level simultaneously. Furthermore, in the sphere of spirituality, it is a challenge to give an exact answer for all of these matters. Therefore, within a very limited time, there are some inevitable limitations that need to be improved: Research Due to the distinctions in the natural and social environment and the enormous influence of the spatial disparity during the colonial time, it is acknowledged that Vietnam 65

is far from a hegemony society. In fact, Vietnam is divided into three zones: North, Central and South with its own characteristic. This research is just an overall view to examine and identify the most basic issues in regardless of region. It is, however, important to take a step further in an in-depth investigation into each region to establish the most practical and appropriate solution for the social cohesion. Due to the lack of time and connections, the interviews were conducted mostly with the informants coming from and living in the South of Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh city in specific). Given the individual approach, for the more precise outcome, the area of the interview needs to be expanded to the North and Central with a variety of ages, careers and social position.

Design solution A non- religious spiritual space is a new definition in Vietnam. Therefore, the very limited source of relevant references from existing projects or academic research into (in Vietnam) this subject requires more time for a deeper insight into the traditional architecture as well as the social impact of architecture on the society. My proposal is currently limited to a conceptual design which should be improved more in details and technical issues such as lighting solution, specific design and function for each area, and material selection when it comes to reality. Moreover, it is also necessary to take a step deeper into the social and psychological aspects of the informal social places so that giving a more detailed solution for it.

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Wright, S. (2015) ‘Streets and Laneways of Ho Chi Minh city’, [online], available: https:// www.regularsteven.com/streets-and-laneways-of-ho-chi-minh-city/].

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Illustrations Figure 1. The overall view of the core concept Figure 2. A chronical of important historical events Figure 3. Thought and religious hierarchy in Vietnamese society Figure 4. The interrelationship between individual memory, collective memory and cultural memory Figure 5. The transition in the pattern of collective memory in Vietnamese society Figure 6. The master plan of Ground Zero Memorial (Vinnitskaya 2012) Figure 7. Libeskind’s hand sketch explains the meaning of the “void” (Vinnitskaya 2012) Figure 8. The waterfall pool (Vinnitskaya 2012) Figure 9. The contradiction in the appearance of two buildings (Libeskind) Figure 10. Aerial view of the museum (Libeskind) Figure 11, 12. The Garden of Exile (Libeskind) Figure 13. The Holocaust Void (Libeskind) Figure 14. The reaction of visitors inside the space Figure 15. Natural light from the ceiling Figure 16. The Memorial Void Figure 17. The Shalekhet (Fallen Leaves)- an installation of Israeli artist Menashe Kadishman Figure 18. A well in a Nothern village (Thuy) Figure 19. A well with 2 meters deep and 20 meters in diameter in Uoc Le village, Hanoi (Thuy) Figure 20. A banyan tree planted near a village’s entrance gate (Lien 2011) Figure 21. A typical image of a village in a work of arts with a banyan tree, communal house and a well Figure 22. Children are playing under the shadow of a 500year old banyan tree in Yen Lac village, Hanoi (Bich 2014) Figure 23,24. Laneways in Ho Chi Minh city- a place for eating out and gossiping (Wright 2015) 70

10 19 26 30 32 35 35 35 36 36 37 38 38 38 39 39 41 41 42 42 42 43

Figure 25. A diagram of the key concept Figure 26. Sitemap of Nguyen Hue Walking street Figure 27. City Hall and other French colonial buildings Figure 28. The middle along two sides of the broad promenade is old condominiums Figure 29. Saigon River and modern skyscrapers Figure 30. The target users and the main purpose of use Figure 31. The connection between the site context and the site planning Figure 32. Site planning Figure 33. Under the bridge Figure 34. Detail of the water pool Figure 35. Underground floor plan and sketch Figure 36. Under the bridge with the outdoor elevator Figure 37. The circulation of collective memory Figure 38. A wood-tile traditional house in the village (Hickey 1967) Figure 39. The entrance to the cultural area. It is designed as a small traditional house with a lotus pond in front of Figure 40. Floor plan of the exhibition area Figure 41. Section showing the courtyard Figure 42. Old condominiums in Hanoi (Nguyen 2015) Figure 43. A communal house in Hanoi (Tran) Figure 44. Indoor view to the courtyards.

Figure 45. Exterior view of the courtyard 2 Figure 46. Exterior view of the courtyard 1 Figure 47. The installation Colours of life from teamLab, Japan (teamLab 2018) Figure 48. The installation with mirror partitions Figure 49. Floor plan of the spiritual area Figure 50. The pathway leading to the installation Figure 51. The interaction between the space and the climate Figure 52. The oasis block Figure 53. View from the installation to the oasis Figure 54. The concept of the oasis block Figure 55. The way out between the waterfalls 71

46 47 47 47 47 48 49 50-51 52 52 53 53 54 55 55 57 57 58 58 59 59 59 59 60 60 61 61 62 63 63 63

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