Vietnamese modernist architects added “bioclimatic” features such as ventilation shades and exterior corridors to regulate the temperature inside buildings
to imagine Ho Chi Minh city without its glittering towers of glass and steel looming over the urban sprawl. Home to around 9m people, Vietnam’s commercial capital is its most populous city; yet prior to the 1960s, high-rise buildings were rare in Saigon, as it was known until 1975.
It was also a pragmatic response to the tropical climate. To ward off the sweltering temperatures Vietnamese modernists drew on pre-colonial building techniques that kept structures cool and well ventilated. These features, now known as “bioclimatic”, became a hallmark of the style. At 151 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia exterior corridors shielded apartments from the sun and narrow gaps in the walls funnelled the breeze to the living areas.
In a bid to squeeze more people into smaller spaces and maximise profits, urban planners in Ho Chi Minh city now seem content to run roughshod over this history. The block at 151 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia will probably be demolished. Its tenants were evicted and today it lies derelict, choked by unruly foliage. The fate of other buildings in Vietnam also depends on developers’ whims.
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