[S01.1] Non-religious Spiritual space for social cohesion in Vietnam

Introduction

The contemporary Vietnamese history was marked by a complex and bloody chain of political events in the early 20^th century which was perceived as the main trigger to the transitions in the very foundation of  the society: the end of the colonial wars, the return of peace in 1975, and the economic reform which is known as Doi Moi (Renovation) in 1986. Traditionally, the community shapes the core value of Vietnamese culture and this factor manipulates the perception of the Viet in every aspect of life. However, in the times of globalization after 1975, in an attempt to adopt a new lifestyle from Western developed countries, young Vietnamese generation has been exposed to a new sense of individualism which emphasizes on the self- aggrandizement and distinctive attributions rather than collective benefits. Additionally, the series of abrupt transitions in politics and economy happened in Vietnam over the last one hundred years had widened this gap between the generations in Vietnamese society by breaking down some fundamental values in culture and society. This transition time, consequently, has caused a disconnection in the collective memory between the young people and their parent’s generation.

In the context of contemporary Vietnamese architecture, a lot of efforts have been made in an effort to identify the cultural identity, which is struggling with the paradox between the tradition and the modern as a phenomenon of the universalization, just like most of the other countries in the world (Frampton 1992). These efforts, however, were mainly focused on the appearance of tradition rather than the spiritual aspect of social life in architecture. Spiritual spaces are, however, usually referred to the religious purpose due to its emotional impacts on the human mind. Yet, religion is not the only effective means to translate physical languages of an interior space into inner feelings because the most powerful spatial experience is

“a private dialogue between the work and the viewer” (Juhani 2005).

Furthermore, when it comes to social cohesion, there should be no religious boundary between people in the same country. As an agricultural society which required a close collaboration in every aspect of daily life, Vietnamese has been taught about the survival and human interconnections by collective values before they were separated by religious believes. Hence collective memories which could be considered as a stimulus in social cohesion has not been granted the weight it merits. Yet there is a critical factor of cultural memory- the individuality:

“…it is perhaps at the moment when the individuals appear to care very little about a society that he develops in himself to the fullest qualities of a social being… People are always already social beings… what appears to be the most “personal” of experiences turns out to be thoroughly social.”(Meusburger et al. 2011)

has been undermined from the very beginning.