Sustainable Architecture for Ethnic minorities in Vietnam_ Investigative project

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The School of Textiles and Design Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh, United Kingdom April, 2018

In the late 20th century, the abruptly political transitions around the world with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the ending of the Cold War had caused a profound impact on the Vietnamese society in all of the aspects. The fundamental changes in the economic policies which led to the “socialist market economy� showed promising signs to the national economy (Duiker 1995). The achievements of Vietnam in poverty reduction was recognized with the reduction in the overall poverty rate, dropping down from nearly 60 percent in 1993 to 16 percent in 2006 according to the Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey data. In urban cities, it is obvious to perceive the significant differences in the appearance of the built environment since the 1990s. With the rapid proliferation of modern expressions and technologies in Vietnamese contemporary architecture, the living standards of urban citizens have been upgraded day by day. However, the power of contemporary architecture in Vietnam is commonly considered as a luxury service for economic and political needs rather than for social concerns. Consequently, the initial role of architecture as a powerful reshaping instrument seems to be far away from any road to address the basic needs of all segments of Vietnamese society, especially the ethnic minority groups. Although the ethnic equality is firmly declared in the policies of the government since the 1930s, the social segregation and wealth disparities still thrive (Nguyen and Kendall 2003).

There are a modest number of architectural projects in Vietnam for these underprivileged communities. Most of them are single projects in small-scale in an attempt to solve isolated issues rather than finding a holistic approach. Architecture can be an essential driver for social change due to its intimate relationship to human socioeconomic life (Lepik 2010). Therefore, there is an urgent need to go beyond an isolated approach in sustainable architecture, not just looking at a building as a freestanding structure with technical issues, not just conducting a housing project as a construction plan or a charity activity but perceiving it as an intervention in the whole social life of the local population.

introduction

The aim of this report is to propose a viable and holistic approach for sustainable architecture in order to improve the living standards of the ethnic minorities in terms of sustainable architecture. This proposal will be based on the analysis of case studies around the world as well as the distinctive characteristics of the social life of these communities placing in the Vietnamese context.

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content Ethnic minorities in Vietnam

Current status of ethnic minorities in Vietnam

The role of minorities communities in sustainable development Case study

The New Gourna village by Hassan Fathy Sustainable architecture for ethnic minorities in Vietnam

The fundamental needs of minorities communities in sustainable development

A holistic approach to sustainable architecture for ethnic minorities Conclusion Reference list

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Ethnic minorities in Vietnam

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Current status of ethnic minorities in Vietnam Vietnam has a complex ethnoscape with fifty- four ethnic groups divided into eight linguistic growth. The ethnic Vietnamese (known as Kinh) and Chinese group is the majority due to its dominance in population and economic contributions while fifty- two other groups are labelled as minorities with only 14.5 percent of the total population according to a report of The World Bank in 2009. The majority of ethnic minorities live in two regions: the Northern Mountains, which border China, and the Central Highlands, which border Laos and Cambodia while the Kinh and Chinese groups occupy in the lowland and coastal lands (Figure 1, 2, 3).

The significant achievements of Vietnam in economic growth and poverty reduction over the past decades did not come along with equality in the society, especially for the ethnic minorities. The socioeconomic gap between the lowlanders and highlanders has risen in spite of a number of supporting policies and programmes from the government to the minority groups. These attempts, ironically, were believed to have adverse impacts, causing cultural crisis among these communities (Taylor 2008).

Figure 1.

Map of the distribution of Ethnic minorities in Vietnam (Bank 2009)

The second one- “sedentarization programme” launched in 1968 in the regards to agricultural innovations and livelihood improvement in the mountainous regions, replacing the traditional way of cultivation by the new methods from the lowlanders. The emphasis of this scheme, however, was to upgrade the infrastructure and bring more job opportunities for the Kinh migrants rather than indigenous groups. That is to say, ethnic disparities and inequality in wealth and incomes between the majority and minorities have been widened as a result of the misleading approach of the authority. In 2006, the ethnic groups accounted for 52 percent poverty rate and 59 percent of the hungry in the whole country according to the report of The World Bank about the Ethnicity and Development in Vietnam (Bank 2009).

The Doi Moi (Renovation)- the process of economic reforms and trade liberalization in 1986 established new economic zones in the highlands leading to the mass migration of lowlanders to the area in which traditionally inhabited by the ethnic minorities in form of economic enterprises (Nguyen et al. 2017). Despite the economic orientation, these resettlement programs had been considered as a cultural intrusion, “internal colonialism” or “assimilation” with the dominance of migration from the lowlands (Taylor 2008).

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The role of minority communities in sustainable development The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1992 declared: “The Socialist Republic of Vietnam state is a unified state of the ethnicities who live on Vietnamese territory. It implements the policy of equality, solidarity, and mutual assistance among all ethnicities and strictly forbids all discriminatory and divisive behaviour among ethnicities.� (Nguyen and Kendall 2003) In this regards, the role of ethnic minorities in a social cohesion is firmly recognized. Despite the physical distances separated the lowlanders and highlanders over one hundred years ago, the national unity of the country in terms of ethnicity is undeniable due to the same origin of all indigenous Vietnamese from the very beginning. There are many types of research proved that ancient Vietnam was, originally, a matriarchal society before the intrusion of the patriarchal system from China and many of these cultural traces can be found on the indigenous customs of highland communities (Tran 2000). In other words, ethnic minority cultures play an essential role in the preservation of national identity as well as an indispensable source of references to the origin of Vietnamese culture, particularly in the sustainable development.

Figure 2 (above).

The rice terrace of highlanders in the Northern Mountain Figure 3 (left).

Mnong children coming home from help their parents in the forest and swidden. ( Bank 2009)

Additionally, locating in the border areas has put some of the ethnic minorities into a sensitively political position. The pressures from socioeconomic inequality may lead to transitional affiliations, seeking for the support across the national borders. This movement can possibly imperil the national integrity (Taylor 2008).

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Case study

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From left to right Figure 4. View of village Figure 5. Theater exterior Figure 6. Market vault (Archnet)

The New Gourna village by Hassan Fathy In 1946, the architect Hassan Fathy (1900- 1989) was commissioned by the Egyptian Department of Antiquities to plan and construct a new village for resettlement 7,000 peasants of Old Gourna- “entrepreneurial excavators” who were living and plying their illegal antiquities trade in the royal necropolis. The aim of the project was to put an end to this illegal livelihood and offer these villagers a new start.

Hassan Fathy strongly believed that this challenge would be a good chance for him to apply his research to create a model village which could bring a basic change in the living condition of the poor in Egyptian rural areas. The case of New Gourna is a compelling true story about how a housing project with a very limited government subside can address and solve the complex socioeconomic issues of the poor with a holistic approach, creating a sustainable community from the outset.

Figure 7. New Gourna site plan (Fund 2011)

Materiality The first obstacle in this project was that the budget was insufficient to use concrete or any kinds of industrially produced building materials. Instead, Fathy decided to build the village from earth up, utilizing the distinctive characteristics of mud brick- the traditional material which was forgotten in the sphere of contemporary Egyptian architecture. Furthermore, in an attempt to reactivate the

traditional architecture, Fathy found the answer for unsupported arches and vaults made by mud brick from a small village in Nubia- which he described as “a village from some dream country… whose architecture has been preserved for centuries uncontaminated by foreign influences, from Atlantis itself it could have been.”(Fathy 1973) 8

Figure 8 (above). Farmer housing: elevation, roof plan (Fathy 1973)

Spatial organization In the book Architecture for the Poor, Fathy explained in very details about his underlying principles in organizing the master plan. His approach came from the research and real-time observations about the customs and norms of the Islamic social system, particularly the Old Gourna: the vernacular architecture of Old Gourna, climate and orientation, ventilation, public service buildings and amenities, peasant houses. The plan conveyed a three-tiered hierarchy of the spacespublic, semi-public, and private- in the village structure. As can be seen in the general plan, the main streets acted as a spatial partition to divide the village into four “quarters” (Figure 7). According to the distinctions in between five- tribal groups the Old Gourna, Fathy decided to respect the physical separation by settling these tribal groups into four quarters. The public space with wide and airy streets con-

Figure 9 (above). Plans of two peasant’s house (Fathy 1973).

Figure 10 (left). Courtyard inside a peasant’s house (Archnet).

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Figure 11 (left). Plan of boys’primary school (Fathy 1973) Figure 12 (right). Classroom courtyard of boys’primary school (Fathy 1973)

sisted of the main street, central square and the building opened onto it: a khan, mosque, theatre, village hall, etc. The semi-public space was characterized by narrow, intimate and shaded lanes leading toward the small squares at the centre of clusters of houses linked by extended family relations (badana). The private space took the form of a residential area with each house was a modern reflection of the medieval Cairo dwelling with a central open courtyard, enclosed by a fence. In particular, Fathy deliberately emphasized the difference between a peasant’s house and a house of a townsman and then designed each house around the needs of each family who would inhabit it. Therefore, the daily routine of them was closely reflected in the layout of the house (Figure 9, 10).

“In the school, it is the children’s souls will grow, and the building must invite them to fly not cramp them like a Chinese shoe… If he (architect) sees them (children) as they really are, not as miniature grown up, he cannot help but give them a building will be kind to them… Yet the school architect must see the world through a child’s eyes, not merely to understand a child’s needs in size and space, but even more, to understand what will comfort and what will frighten a child…The architect must engage all his skills to make the classroom a room that will engender the confidence and sense of security that a good home does.”(Fathy 1973)

The public space was designed for the men while the private space was for the women, the family and the livestock. By this means, the gender discrimination- a part of the Egyptian culture was partly solved and harmonized. Education was also a crucial factor of village life and a source of pride. Hence, a school should be a home to children and a well-designed classroom can make a tremendous impact on the growth of characteristics of a child. (Figure 11,12).

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The cooperative system Two general systems for executing large-scale plans mentioned in the book: the contract system and the system of “aided self-help” were believed that unable to address the housing problems in the Egyptian rural area. The disadvantage of both systems was their dependence on the financial support and labour source from the outside organizations. The Gournis were too poor to afford for any kind of industry materials but mud and if the peasants had his village built for him, he would not gain any skills from it and unable to maintain or repair his house in the future. Therefore, Fathy proposed that a village should be built by its own residences. Only by this means, a village can become a “living organism, capable of growth and of continuing life”(Fathy 1973). This cooperative system was believed to cope with three problems:

1. Using their own labours will be much cheaper than hiring labours from outside.

2. Building becomes a training course for the peasants to become semiskilled workers and a preservative solution for ancient construction techniques.

3. Building was a communal activity to connect human and place.

A hope for rural reconstruction The New Gourna village was never finished. In 1948, it was officially ceased due to bureaucratic red tape and other problems. The value of the scheme as a feasible solution for the poor in Egyptian society was not yet fully recognized until 2010.

After on-site surveys in depth to analyze conditions, identify changes in the environment and examine the use of space and adaption to the building over time, a community assessment to integrate social and economic concerns into planning and decision-making about the future of the village and its preservation was created. According to the report of World Monument Fund in 2011, 40 percent of the original architecture has been lost because of the modification, expansion and replacement in response to the growing up of the village. However, more than 70 percent villagers want to remain in the village and most of them want to remain in Fathy dwellings. Equally importantly, a number of these residents have the family origins from Old Gourna and they believe that the resettlement to New Gourna was a succession in their family tradition rather than a migration. New Gourna was assessed as a close-knit community in their strong network of communication and sharing and this place gives them a sense of home (Fund 2011). Moreover, the idea about training local craftsmen was realized with the employment of forty-six masons in the district (Fathy 1973). That is to say, besides the inappropri-

Figure 13 (above). Aerial view of current New Gourna (Fund 2011) Figure 14 (right). Original Fathy’s building (Fund 2011)

ate Fathy’s building style to current environmental conditions, the core value in Fathy’s philosophy and vision derived from the interaction between human and place was recognized and appropriated by its own inhabitants.

Although the incompletion of the project, the theory about mud brick construction and the attitudes to rural reconstruction still flourished and became the inspiration for many young architects to continue their mission of social engagement.

The survival and development of New Gourna after six-five years was regarded as a successful testament for sustainable architecture and participatory design.

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Sustainable architecture for ethnic minorities in Vietnam

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The fundamental needs of minority communities in sustainable development According to the report Country social analysis: Ethnicity and development in Vietnam of The World Bank (2009), there are six specific reasons of disadvantage that can explain for why minorities remain lag behind the majority:

Lower levels of education

Less mobility

Less access to financial service

Less productive lands

Lower market access

Stereotyping and other culture barriers

Figure 15. How diferences between Kinh and Minorities become disadvantages (Bank 2009)

Based on the figure 15 showing the interrelationship between these drawbacks, “lower education”, “lower livelihood outcome” and “less productive landholding” are placed in the center as main drivers affecting to all of the other factors. From this point of view, the essential needs of ethnic minority communities can be categorized on three sectors: economy, society and culture (Figure 16)

In social aspect, living in an enclosed area bring the benefits in the strong network of communication and sharing between inhabitants. This enclosure, however, partly become a driver for less mobility and less experience of outside world.

Minorities are unwilling to venture outside their living area and this hesitation, consequently, prevents them from being exposed to new ideas and opportunities. Furthermore, the critical barrier in minority society is education. Apart from objective restrictions like financial burdens and limitations in infrastructure and quality of the school, it is common for the minorities to believe that working for livelihood is far more important than pursuing knowledge. On the other hand, the stereotype about the capacity and intellectual ability of highlanders results to inferiority complex among minorities.

In terms of economy, the lack of productive lands is not only about the asset of fewer value lands compared to Kinh but also more about their dependence on staple goods and traditional agriculture. Therefore, besides introducing innovations in technology for cultivation, it is necessary to extend the career choice range for Highlanders, especially for the young people so that they can actively take more control on their livelihood.

In the aspect of culture, there is a misconception about indigenous cultures in highlands due to the lack of interaction. Their value and contribution to the national identity- which is mentioned in the first chapter- have been underestimated by the popular prejudice about the highlanders with their “primitive” lifestyles.

Therefore, it is essential to get a more mutual understanding to eradicate the inappropriate interpretation of their customs and norms.

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Cause

Need

less productive landholding

ECONOMY innovate new technologies and improvements to the traditonal agriculture

Figure 16. The basic needs on each section

extend the job opportunities for the ethnic locals beyond agriculture industry.

lower livelihood outcomes

SOCIETY

CULTURE

preserve the close knit in community

preserve traditional culture and identity

focus on education as a vital element of community

enhance the interaction and exchange within ethnic minorities and with the majority

improve well-being and health in living condition

be a powerful instrument to directly affect the number 3, 4 and 8. Afterwards, achieving these targets can have to improve the poverty and hunger issues in these communities(Figure 17).

lower education

Architecture is a cultural product reflecting the image of a society and more importantly, it is also described by Warwick Fox in a “responsive cohesion” with its own society. In this interrelation, every element in the system interact with each other reciprocally and architecture as a linkage can help to sustain the continuous succession as a response to the everchanging societies (Williamson et al. 2003).

Therefore, an architectural project for rural areas cannot be understood solely as a construction solution for housing problems but rather as a project with broad social, cultural and economic dimensions. This thinking requires a holistic understanding of many obstacles the minority communities facing.

A holistic approach to sustainable architecture for ethnic minorities In 2016, the United Nations established a set of seventeen goals for sustainable development with the three core elements: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. In this scheme, the tenth goal- “Reduced Inequality”, highlighted the significance of social cohesion in the sustainability (‘The United Nations’). Yet, in the context of Vietnamese society, this target will never be achieved with the current ethnic discrimination in the shape of unconsciousness and widely-accepted prejudices toward the minority groups such as “poor”, “lacking capacity”, “uneducated”, “backwards” or “deficiency” among many Kinh. That is to say, “Reducing Inequality” should be the main aim for the sustainable development in ethnic minority communities. From this point of view, “Number 3: Good Health and Well-Being”, “Number 4: Quality Education”, “Number 8: Decent work and Economic Growth”, “Number 1: No Poverty” and “Number 2: Zero Hunger” should be seen as the specific objectives to cope with the current ethnic minorities’ issues. Meanwhile, sustainable architecture can

sustainable architecture Figure 17. Sustainable development goals and its interrelation with each other

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The approach for sustainable architecture, therefore, should be based on the realistic and urgent demands of the community and it needs to go beyond the architectural issues and try to connect with all of the other aspects in the daily life of the inhabitants. It can be divided into three main sectors: architectural, sociocultural, and economic aspects. In general, architects will play an essential role in managing and carrying through the whole programme with his concept. He should be clearly aware of the size and fundamental needs of the community he is serving for and being in charge of how far those impacts can be made from his work on these lands. A community project, however, cannot be a sole responsibility of architects but it has to be processed with a close cooperation between local authorities along with the central government. In other words, no matter how devoted architects are to his project, the project can only be successful and put into reality with the full consent from three sides. More importantly, it is crucial to bear in mind and ensure that main driver of the whole project has to come for the sake of the community itself from the very beginning.

Architecture

Figure 18 (from left to right) The traditional stilt house of Thai community with tradtional materials and modern version of stilt house with industrial materials (Ashui).

Most of the ethnic minorities living in highland reside in stilt house- a house lifted up on wooden piles over the surface of the soil due to the geographic conditions. This vernacular architecture is characterized by wooden structure and elaborately architectural details, particularly the spatial organization is used to strictly follow the system of spiritual beliefs. Over time, the increasing price of wooden materials made this traditional material become unaffordable for the locals and they have to switch to cheaper industrial materials. Additionally, with the influences from outside world, the daily routine of the locals has been affected considerably. Consequently, it has resulted in the changes in the appearance as well as the spatial organization of the house. It is inevitable to adopt the adjustments as a response to the development of the community.

However, without the consultant from professionals, these transformations can have adverse impacts on vernacular architecture (Figure 18).

“The role of tradition is that of a catalyst, which further a chemical reaction, but is no longer detectable in the end result. Tradition can, to be sure, participate in a creation, but it can no longer be creative itself ” (Kenzo Tange, Japanese architect)

From architects • Be knowledgeable about the vernacular architecture: the villagers have built their own house for thousand years ago for their own sake. Each of the house or architectural construction can be seen as an honest reflection of their life and their mind. However, it is common to be confused between the outward appearances and inward values in the traditional sphere. This misconception will become obstacles restraining the inevitable development of the architecture in the everchanging society. In this regards, these intangible objects can only be recognized and reactivated by professionals.

From local authorities and central government • Understand the size and the basic needs of the community • Supply sufficient subsidies to run a project effectively and pay appropriate salary to hire really good architects who are specialized and able to tackle the project • Appreciate and seriously take into consideration the professional advice from architects

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In the case of New Gourna village, Hassan Fathy explained the cooperative system as an in-service training for the peasants in building crafts (Fathy 1973). Along with the financial benefit from saving a significant amount of money from hiring skilled workers from outside, this chance can help to pass on the construction skills to the villagers and possibly help them find a proper job afterwards.

Moreover, when the project finished, the villagers would be able to go on for themselves in maintaining, repairing or even building for their own sake.

Hereby, this project was expected not as a dead thing but a starting point for a continuous development supporting the growth of the village.

Economic In 2016, the Pritzker Prize- the most important award in the field of architecture named Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena as the 2016 Laurette for his significant contribution to tackling housing crisis in Chile. His incremental housing projects to create affordable homes with the philosophy “half a good house”. This low-cost partial solution uses limited government subsidies to build the essential half of a decent-size family home and leave the rest of the house for the residents to finish based on their own needs and financial situations (Figure 19).

Figure 19.

Villa Verde Housing, Constitución, 2013 (Archello)

Socioculture

From architect • Be knowledgeable and concentrate on underlying reasons about the daily routine of the inhabitants: every changes or improvement need to be built on the deep understanding of the life of the community in the form of traditional customs, norms or community activities happened in the area.

• Define the sociocultural aspect of the community in a state of flux: cultural and educational constructions such as community house, schools, cultural centre, museums, etc should not be designed as a passive place confining the past but an active hub where can reactivate as well as generate all of the physical and spiritual activities for the present and future development.

From architect • Find the viable and sustainable solutions for technical issues in construction: harnessing the strength of local, cheap or recycled/ reused materials which are available in the area or solving technical and aesthetic issues in replacing a traditional material into a new material • Consider the economic benefits that could be resulted from the project: for instance, an exhibition space for local artisans perform and exhibit their craft skills or a cooperation between culture and sustainable tourism, etc.

From local authorities and central government • Establish technical schools to train the highlanders craft skills which they can apply to improve their living condition or find a proper job inside or outside areas.

• Consider the distinctions in living condition and income of each area and each community to find the best financial solution for each community project. These criteria will decide how many percentages the community and authorities should be accounted for.

From local authorities and central government • Create more chances for cultural exchange between ethnic minorities and the majority through festivals or voluntary programmes, bring young people, particularly young architectural students/architects to the remote areas to integrate into the rural life there. More importantly, these schemes should be set up with long-term goal and well-organized on a large scale (a national network of universities for instance) to ensure the effectiveness of the outcomes.

• Supporting ethnic voice in the project: the community should play a central part the project in the shape of consultants or local labours supply.

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Bank, T. W. (2009) ‘Country social analysis: Ethnicity and Development in Vietnam’.

Conclusion

Duiker, W. J. (1995) Vietnam : revolution in transition, Second edition.. ed., Boulder, Colo.: Boulder, Colo. : Westview.

The ultimate target of sustainable architecture for ethnic minorities is reducing inequality in economy, society and culture by a holistic approach. With the profound impacts on social changes, an architectural community project should go beyond its solely architectural sense and be in charge of sociocultural and economic concerns. In order to achieve this, a close cooperation between multidisciplinary professions, local authorities and central government is a decisive factor for the success of it. Although highland minorities used to share the same territory with each other and each mountainous region can be the home for various ethnic groups, it is crucial to underline the particularities in understanding “Vietnam’s ethnic mosaic”. Besides the general understanding about the minority groups, this method needs to based on research in-depth about the distinctions of the specific ethnic community before addressing the basic demands of them.

Fathy, H. (1973) Architecture for the Poor: An experiment in rural Egypt, Chicago London: The University of Chicago.

Fund, W. M. (2011) New Gourna Village: Conservation and community.

Lepik, A. (2010) Small scale, big change : new architectures of social engagement, Basel : London: Basel : Birkhäuser ; London : Springer distributor.

Nguyen, H.-T.-M., Kompas, T., Breusch, T. and Ward, M. B. (2017) ‘Language, Mixed Communes, and Infrastructure: Sources of Inequality and Ethnic Minorities in Vietnam’, World Development, 145-162.

It is time to rethinking the role of architecture in the Vietnamese society, especially in architectural education where incoming architecture students should be taught about the social issues and be aware of the pressing social exclusion happening in the own society. Social architecture is not a charity activity, giving a temporary supports but a complex issue need to be solved with professional skills.

Nguyen, V. n. H. and Kendall, L. (2003) Vietnam : journeys of body, mind, and spirit, Berkeley, Calif. ; London: Berkeley, Calif. ; London : University of California Press.

Reference list

Taylor, P. (2008) ‘Minorities at Large: New Approaches to Minority Ethnicity in Vietnam’, Journal of Vietnamese Studies, 3-43.

Archello ‘Villa Verde Housing’, [online], available: https://archello.com/project/ villa-verde-housing [Accessed 7th April 2018].

‘The United Nations’, [online], available: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/ [Accessed 4th April 2018].

Archnet ‘New Gourna Village’, [online], available: https://archnet.org/sites/90/ media_contents/30005 [Accessed 7th April 2018].

Tran, N. T. (2000) Co so van hoa Viet Nam, 3rd edition ed., Vietnam: Giao Duc Press.

Ashui ‘Giu gin va ke thua kien truc nha san dan toc Thai’, [online], available: http://www.ashui.com/mag/chuyenmuc/kien-truc/11868-giu-gin-va-ke-thuakien-truc-nha-san-dan-toc-thai.html [Accessed 7th April 2018].

Williamson, T., Radford, A. and Bennetts, H. (2003) Understanding Sustainable Architecture, USA Canada Spon Press.

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