Restoring French villas – keeping Hanoi’s cultural heritage

via VNS/Vietnam Net, 20 May 2023: The new paint of a French colonial villa in downtown Hanoi has sparked a debate among the public and heritage enthusiasts, with some praising the renovation as a valuable preservation effort for the city’s architectural heritage, while others argue that the bold new colors are not in line with the street’s aesthetics; experts suggest implementing adaptive restoration policies to protect and restore French-era villas, highlighting their historical, social, and artistic significance, while also emphasizing the need for proper classification, regulation, and budget allocation to ensure their preservation.

The new paint of a villa dating to the French colonial era at 49 Tran Hung Dao Street in downtown Hanoi has been a burning issue for the public and particularly heritage lovers. People have argued about the striking new colours of the building.
“The renovation is great news for Hà Nội,” Martin Rama, a consultant to the President of the World Bank, who had spent many years living in Hà Nội, told Việt Nam News.

“Not that the building is extraordinary from an architectural point of view, but there are not so many of these villas left in the city, around 1,000 of them. And they are being demolished. They are crumbling. They’re falling apart. They’re being replaced by new buildings, and that’s bad for the visual aspect of Hà Nội.

Source: Restoring French villas – keeping Hanoi’s cultural heritage