This document provides information on the architecture and history of Vietnam and Laos. It discusses the geography and colonial history of Vietnam. The two main cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are located along major rivers. Vietnamese culture has been influenced by various ethnic groups and religions like Buddhism and Hinduism. Notable architectural sites in Vietnam include the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long in Hanoi, the Citadel of the Ho Dynasty, the Complex of Hue Monuments, Hoi An Ancient Town, and My Son Sanctuary. Ha Long Bay, the Historic Town of Luang Prabang, and Wat Phou are UNESCO World Heritage sites in Vietnam and Laos. The document includes pictures and

1. VIETNAM and LAOS
ARCHITECTURE
History of Architecture 3
Prepared by:
Archt. Clarissa L. Avendaño
1ST sem AY 2012-2013

2. • Socialist Republic of Vietnam
• Boundaries:
China - north
Laos - northwest,
Cambodia – southwest
South China Sea - east
• Became
independent
from
Imperial China in 938 AD.
• Colonized by the French in the
mid-19th c
• Divided by a Communist north
and a capitalist south during the
Cold War.
• HANOI - capital city since the
reunification of North and South
Vietnam in 1976.
http://www.amazone-travel.com/vietnam-e.html

3. Two main cities of
Vietnam are both located
next to large rivers.
1. Hanoi (north) River.
Red
2. Ho
Chi
Minh
City/Saigon (south) delta of the Mekong
River.
http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/2657?e=berglee_1.0-ch11_s02

4. http://www.friendsofvso.org/sitepages/culture.html
http://rol.vn/resourcedetail/1/1125/water-puppetry/
Water Puppet
•
Vietnamese culture is an amalgamation of many ethnic groups
such as the Cham, Khmer, Muong, Hmong and Chinese.
•
Vietnam's history goes back to the civilization of the Hung
kings, about 400 years ago.

5. http://www.flickr.com/photos/7971389@N03/495618057/lightbox/
Old Hindu Temple
http://www.hanoitraveltours.com/unique-architecture-one-pillar-pagoda.html
One Pillar Pagoda, Hanoi
• Vietnam has no state religion.
• Main religion is Buddhism, introduced during the Chinese
occupation with classic monasteries and pagodas.
• Hinduism is the first religion of the Champa kingdom brought
from India. The Cham people erected Hindu temples (Bimong)
throughout Central Vietnam.

6. Thang Long
Citadel of the Ho Dynasty
http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/thanglong.html
http://unescopostcard.blogspot.com/2011/12/vn1358-citadel-of-ho-dynasty-available.html
VIETNAM ‘s UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization) inscribed on World Heritage Lists:
Cultural
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long - Hanoi (2010)
Citadel of the Ho Dynasty (2011)
Complex of Hue Monuments (1993)
Hoi An Ancient Town (1999)
My Son Sanctuary (1999)
Natural
1.
2.
Ha Long Bay (1994)
Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park (2003)

7. http://www.vietnamdiscoverytravel.com/bhaya-cruise.html
HA LONG BAY
• Located in the Gulf of
Tonkin, within Quang
Ninh
Province, northeast of
Vietnam
• Covers an area 43,400
ha. with over 1600
islands and islets.
• Seascape of limestone
pillars/ mature Karst
landforms
http://hasslefreevietnam.com/halong-bay-one-day.html

8. HOI AN ANCIENT TOWN
•
South-East Asian trading port
in Quang Nam Province,
which dates back from the
15th - 19th c.
•
Buildings and street plan
reflect the influences, both
indigenous
(traditional
Vietnamese) and foreign
(Chinese, Japanese, etc.)
French-era building
http://www.concierge.com/travelguide/centralvietnam/hotels/42501
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PhoCoHoiAn.jpg
Chinese Temple
http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/Vietnam/South_Central_Coast/Da_Nang/Hoi_An/photo20
1812.htm

9. HOI AN
ANCIENT TOWN
•
Buildings are aligned along
narrow lanes which include
religious buildings, such as
pagodas, temples, meeting
houses; markets, houses and
other which relate to the
development of a port
community.
•
Architecture almost entirely of
wood.
•
http://www.vietnamonline.com/destination/hoi-an.html
Typical house conforms to a
corridor plan, the following
elements
occurring
in
sequence: house, yard and
house.
http://www.aprotravel.com/centre-heritage/hoi-an-charming-tours/676-hoi-an-daily-trip-and-around.html

10. HUE
COMPLEX OF MONUMENTS

11. HUE
COMPLEX OF MONUMENTS
http://www.vietnamwiki.net/Hue-See-Hue_Imperial_city-P78
http://www.vietnam-aloha.com/about-hue-vietnam-what-to-see-eat-and-do.html
• Walled city, north side of
the Perfume River.
• Served as administrative capital
of southern Vietnam in the 17th c.
and again in the 18th c.
• Planned according to ancient
oriental
philosophy
and
Vietnamese tradition :
– Respect for the physical conditions
of the site:
– Perfume River as the main axis.
– Ngu Binh mountain (Royal
Screen).
– Relationship between:
– 5
cardinal
points
(centre, west, east, north, south)
– 5
natural
elements
(earth, metal, wood, water, fire)
– 5
basic
colors
(yellow, white, blue, black, red)

12. HUE
COMPLEX OF MONUMENTS
•
National capital of united Vietnam
in 1802 – 1945
•
Four
citadels
or
defended
enclosures made up the city
1. Kinh Thanh (Capital City) official administrative buildings
2. Hoang Thanh (Imperial City) royal palaces and shrines
http://www.vietnamculturaltravel.com/destinations/world-heritage-sites/the-citadel-of-hue-city/

13. HUE
COMPLEX OF
MONUMENTS
• Political, cultural and
religious center under
the Nguyen dynasty.
http://www.vietnamwiki.net/Hue-See-Hue_Imperial_city-P78
3. Tu Cam Thanh (Forbidden Purple City or Inner
City) - royal residences, similar to China where only
the emperors, concubines, and those close enough
to them were granted access.
3. Tran Binh Dai - additional defensive
work in the northeast corner of the
Capital City, designed to control
movement on the river.
–
Tran Hai Thanh (Coastal Bastion) – 5th
fortress constructed a little later to protect
the capital against assault from the sea.

14. Hai Ba Trung High School
Khai Dinh Tomb
Thien Mu Pagoda
Tu Duc Tomb
http://vietnamheritagetravel.com/blog/3-royal-tombs
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40295335@N00/7989950481/
Quoc Học High School
http://flickriver.com/photos/nguyenloc_sg/3749015616/
Monuments along the Perfume River:
1. Tombs of several emperors, including Minh Mạng, Khai Dịnh, and Tu Duc.
2. Thien Mụ Pagoda - largest pagoda in Hue and official symbol of the city.
French-style buildings along the south bank of the Perfume River:
1. Quoc Học High School - the oldest high school in Vietnam
2. Hai Ba Trung High School

15. MY SON SANCTUARY
•
•
Dates from the 4th -14th
c.,
located
in
Duy
Phú,
Quảng
Nam
province
in
Central
Vietnam, a valley surrounded
by two mountain ranges.
http://mysonsanctuary.com/107/how-to-get-my-son-sanctuary/
Indian
influenced
Hindu
temple complex, and political
capital of the Cham dynasty.
http://www.vietnamtravelblog.info/destinations/my-son-sanctuary/

16. MY SON SANCTUARY
•
Complex of temples and tombs
•
Tower temples were designed
and built to symbolize Mt.
Meru, the mythical sacred
mountain of the Hindu gods at
the
center
of
the
universe,
symbolically
reproduced on earth in the
mountainous homeland of the
Cham people.
•
http://www.vir.com.vn/news/travel/my-son-sanctuary
Used of fired brick with stone
pillars and decorated with
sandstone bas-reliefs depicting
scenes from Hindu mythology.
http://www.mediastorehouse.com/low.php?xp=media&xm=3764363

17. Hanoi Opera House
HANOI FRENCH QUARTER
• Wide tree-line boulevards and
imposing colonial buildings which
began in 1983.
History Museum blends Asian and European styles
http://www.1stophanoi.com/articles/french_quarter
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21264033@N00/6349746934/in/photostream/

18. LAOS
• Centers on the Mekong
River basin and rugged
mountain terrain.
• Boundaries:
 Vietnam - east
 Cambodia - south
• Lao Kingdom in 1500s
was part of the Kingdom
of Siam.
• Under French Colony
• Received independence
from France in 1949.
http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/2657?e=berglee_1.0-ch11_s02

19. Vat Xieng Thong
HISTORIC TOWN OF
LUANG PRABANG
http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Vat-Xieng-Thong-Luang-Prabang-UNESCO-World-HeritageSite-Laos-Indochina-Southeast-Asia-Asia-Posters_i8738077_.htm
Buddhist Temple at Haw Kham (Royal Palace)
complex
http://www.allposters.com/-sp/National-Museum-Vat-Ho-Pha-Bang-Luang-Prabang-UNESCOWorld-Heritage-Site-Laos-Indochina-Posters_i8739295_.htm
• Royal
capital
in
the
mountainous region along
the Mekong river.
• Complex with Buddhist
temples, monasteries and
National Museum, Vat Ho Pha Bang
the village.
• Fusion
of
traditional
architecture and Lao urban
structures with those built
by the European colonial
authorities in the 19th and
20th c.

20. THAT – Lao Stupa
http://www.worldisround.com/articles/352969/photo9.html
That
Pathum
(Lotus
Stupa), LUANG PRABANG
•
Known
as
That
(watermelon stupa)
•
Reconstructed
large
stupa, Sri Lankan style.
Wat Phat Luang (Golden lotus bud),
Vientiane
Makmo
•
Site of a previous stupa of Khmer
origin.
squat
•
Mandala - Terraced Stupa.
•
Combination of Khmer, Lao and
Ceylonese influences.

21. UNESCO World Heritage Sites:
1. The Historic Town of Luang Prabang
2.
Wat Phou (Vat Phu) - ancient Hindu temple complex
WAT or VAT – Temple Mountain
http://www.paksecruise.com/vat-phou-boat/the-visits/vat-phou-ruins/
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/activity/great-outdoors/remains-of-theday-20111012-1lkhp.html

22. REFERENCES:
De la Croix, Horst and Richard Tansey. Gardner’s Art Through the Ages.
Ancient, Medieval and Non-European Art. 7th ed. Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, Inc. USA. 1976.
Goepper, Roger. Landmarks of the World’s Art. The Oriental World. Mc.
Graw-Hill Book Company, New Yorkl – Toronto. 1967.
Harris, Cyril M. Historic Architecture Sourcebook. Mac Graw Hil, Inc.
USA.1977.
Palmes, J.C. Sir Banister Fletcher’s A History of Architecture. 18th ed. The
Athlone Press, University of London. London
Other Sources:
Pictures and data from Internet Sources