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The combination of modern and traditional elements to create a building rich in identity and preserve local cultural beauties is not simple but necessary in sustainable urban development.
The local cultural imprints make the real estate product unique (Illustration: Vlasta – Sam Son project)
Economic development relies on cultural background
If we go to some of the most successful tourist destinations in the world, such as old elegant towns in France, Italy, Belgium, England, etc., we will see very clearly a balanced picture of modern urban development associated with antique buildings. This way of development has been contributing to the diversification of the European economy.
Many years ago, the Sydney government (Australia) held a ceremony to sell “space rights” above the Hyde Park Barracks Museum, a 200-year-old heritage-listed building in the centre of the city to raise funds for the conservation of historical relics. This is considered a measure to maintain heritage buildings that many countries have also focused on.
The Boat Quay riverside in Singapore is also an outstanding example of how heritage preservation leads to economic success. By maintaining a unique urban layout and architecture, Boat Quay has turned the rows of old townhouses from the colonial era into bars, restaurants, and bustling nightlife activities, attracting tourists from all over the world, and contributing significantly to the country's night economy.
The above practical stories have shown the great value architectural, cultural and historical heritage could bring to the economy. Real estate development associated with heritage conservation helps to effectively promote indigenous historical culture, creating unique architectural and landscape highlights for living space.
Commenting on this issue, Mr Nguyen Xuan Ngoc Hoa, senior expert on the policy and planning of enCity Singapore, said that the value of a building lies in its architectural value and its impact on its community, as it is the witness of historical events and parts of a master urban landscape.
The building is a lively record of a historical period (Illustration: Temple of Hung Kings in Can Tho City)
Vietnam possesses a profound treasure of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, such as traditional festivals, historical relics, customs and traditions imbued with regional identity, etc., that always attract domestic and international tourists. This is a favourable condition for real estate developers to research and integrate heritage aspects into the design of their buildings.
Imprint of “heritage” in modern construction
The combination of heritage and local culture in architectural works has become a sustainable development trend for real estate in Vietnam. Many businesses have successfully applied this direction, including Van Phu - Invest.
"To create works with a different identity and meaningful life values for the community, Van Phu - Invest places people at the centre and nature as the foundation. Our point of view when creating urban areas and constructions across the country is the suitability between our projects and the natural environment and regional culture, ensuring maximum adaptation to the available resources of nature, humans, unique cultural beauties, etc. From there, it enhances the difference and uniqueness of the projects while promoting and preserving traditional values", representative of Van Phu - Invest share.
The Vlasta - Sam Son project central hotel is inspired by the image of swimming whales.
The Vlasta - Sam Son seafront urban area is a typical project of Van Phu - Invest with a unique architectural style, taking the local religious culture as inspiration for creativity. Prominent in the middle of the project is the central hotel, designed based on the image of whales with unique lines and textures. The reason why, on the project site, there is still a sacred and highly revered Whale temple, where the fishermen here have held festivals for hundreds of years to preserve worshipping customs. The image of a whale is not only the inspiration for buildings with a unique design but also a vivid symbol, reminding and honouring the good spiritual and cultural values of the locality, preserving it for future generations.
Not only urban areas, other works of Van Phu - Invest also pay great attention to cultural factors. The Temple of Hung Kings in Can Tho City is a great example. The highlight of the temple area is the main building with a stylised bronze drum image of 18 sculpted bows representing the 18 Hung Kings. The main temple has a circular shape built on a square foundation, symbolizing the Sky and Earth, surrounded by 54 cylindrical columns forming a circle in the lake visualising the community of 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam.
The architecture of the Hung Kings’ Temple in Can Tho City carries many meanings associated with the national spirit.
Patterns on the Ngoc Lu bronze drum, Dong Son culture period (2000 - 2500 years ago) are adopted to decorate the walls in the main display space of the temple, pillars, altar walls, lake slope, and bows.
Not only focusing on historical factors, Van Phu - Invest also upholds the customs, lifestyles and activities of local people, and considers it a "cultural heritage" that needs to be preserved. This is reflected in the harmonious combination of Dong Son culture with the typical river lifestyle of the Southwest region in the Temple of Hung Kings in Can Tho City. In addition to promoting water features by placing the temple on a large regulating lake, the Stela house was designed by architects with a typical shape simulating the traditional temple architecture of the people of the South and placed in the middle of the yard on the way to the main temple.
With the motto being "Dedicated to creating life values", the works of Van Phu - Invest not only serve basic living needs but also aim at practical human values. The inheritance and attachment of heritage imprints to modern architecture is an important factor in the sustainable urban development of Van Phu - Invest, contributing to spreading the indigenous regional culture, honouring the local people in particular and the Vietnamese people in general so that each project becomes a heritage for future generations.
