Skip to content

[S01.3] Non-religious Spiritual space for social cohesion in Vietnam

Written by

Linh Phamvu

2.2 Spiritual interior space as a social activity

The origin of architecture is believed to evolve from a natural cave to a primitive block as a shelter. Human beings from the beginning thought about architecture as space within to protect themselves from nature or to give them a sense of safety. This inside-out evolution, however, is reversed nowadays by the domination of exterior form rather than the interior experience. The knowledge about a building seems to come from the eye-catching images of its envelope, leaving an ignorance to the feeling of inhabiting the building itself. Hence, the term “interior space” in the architectural shape should not be isolated in an enclosed shell but expanded to the whole space that people actually connect with it mentally and emotionally- the space within (McCarter 2016). The “fundamental connection to human nature” of interior space in the sense of psychology is, however, gradually marginalized by the hegemony of physical needs nowadays (Caan 2011). It is important to understand that these emotional effects are the reason explaining how the interior space can cue memories and thereby human behaviours in an unexpected way. The power of the space within is not limited in its aesthetic form but in the way how people inhabit and interact with by all senses. As Patrick Nuttgens depicted in his book The Story of Architecture, the root of architecture is growing deeply from the personal history of everybody (Nuttgens 1983). By this means, experiences and then memories of a person are shared with his contemporaries, constructing the collective values in a community by times. These communal values are the archetype of culture (Robinson 2006). Culture is meaningful only when it is placed in a proper social context. This undetachable relationship demonstrates the primary purpose of architecture and particularly interior space as a social medium.

“Architecture is atmosphere”

as Daniel Libeskind claimed in his interview The Voices of Site with Louisiana Channel.

In Vietnam, the perception of architectural design or interior design in a professional way seems to be solely shaped by the materialistic contribution. Consequently, when the interviewees were asked about the design of public spaces, they all expressed indifference towards its existence. Museums and public commemorations were seen as political propaganda under the eyes of the public. This blatant manipulation, in contrast, gave the public more incentives to disparage officially proclaimed narratives from the state (Can 2017). All of the informants from both generations complained that the design of these commemorative places was boring and hollow, a waste of money and space for these meaningless constructions.

Meanwhile, when it came to the question about spatial experiences as a strong emotional connection, there was an opposite pattern in the response of the informants. If the professionals solely emphasized the structural elements of the space and its aesthetic aspect, the normal people first mentioned their emotions and how they felt about that space. These answers were referred to their childhood place (house or town) or ritual spaces (old church or ancient pagoda) which were mostly constructed by “unprofessional architects”.

The space from their memories was appeared to be an “atmosphere”, a boundless space in which all of its structural elements were blended together, creating a synthesis, a genius loci (the spirit of the place). They all stated that although the place can be physically changed with the times, the emotional engagement between them and that place will be intact as long as its spirit is preserved.

A spiritual space, from my point of view, can be any spaces, public or private, commercial or ritual, as long as its inner language can be interpreted in emotional feelings of the audiences and reach out to their deepest essence. Most of the interviewees affirmed that early childhood memories had a profound impact on their mind, it manipulated the way how they recall the places they visited. The power of this “pure experience”, explained by Juhani Pallasmaa, came from the authenticity of the way they experienced the world from the very beginning (Nesbitt 1996). This element is harnessed in preserving historic places and also in new constructions. Authenticity is, however, not only appeared in the shape of artefacts but also in the intangible form of interpretation, giving the audience a space to perceive it by all senses. Rustic materials give a sense of closeness as the user can actually feel its by touching smelling. Natural lighting is appreciated as it has a smell of nature, they can feel it by the changing of temperature in their skin. People love tranquillity, not because of the absence of noise but because only at that moment, the voice of everything around them become clearer than ever:

“The task of architecture is to make visible how the world touch us” (Juhani 2005)


Reference:

Bevan, R. (2006) The destruction of memory- Architecture at war., London: Reaktion Books Ltd.

Bich, L. (2014) ‘Cay da 500 tuoi o ngoai thanh Ha Noi’, [online], available: https://www.phongtuc.vn/cay-da-500-tuoi-o-ngoai-thanh-ha-noi/].

Bouquet, M. (2010) ‘Vietnamese party-state and religious pluralism since 1986: Building the fatherland?’, Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, 25(1), 90.

Caan, S. (2011) Rethinking design and interiors: human beings in the built environment, London: Laurence King.

Can, B. (2017) ‘Architecture and the Social Frameworks of Memory: A Postscript to Maurice Halbwachs’ “Collective Memory”‘, Iconarp International Journal of Architecture and Planning, 5(1), 01-09.

Coles, J. and House, N. (2007) The fundamentals of Interior Architecture, United Kingdom: AVA Publishing SA.

Duiker, W. J. (1995) Vietnam : Revolution in transition, 2nd edition ed., America: Westview Press.

Earl, C. (2010) ‘Vietnam’s “Informal Public” Spaces: Belonging and Social Distance in Post-reform Ho Chí Minh City’, Journal of Vietnamese Studies, 5(1), 86-124.

Fathy, H. (1973) Architecture for the Poor: An experiment in rural Egypt, Chicago- London: The University of Chicago.

Frampton, K. (1992) Modern architecture: a critical history / by Kenneth Frampton, 3rd ed. ed., United Kingdom: Thames & Hudson.

Hickey, G. C. (1967) Village in Vietnam, 4th edition ed., New Haven and London: Yale University Press.

Juhani, P. (2005) The Eyes of the skin- Architecture and the sense, Great Britain: John Wiley & Son.

Libeskind, S. ‘Jewish Museum Berlin‘, [online], available: https://libeskind.com/work/jewish-museum-berlin/].

Lien, Q. (2011) ‘Cay da lang‘, [online], available: http://baothaibinh.com.vn/tin-tuc/19/5972/cay-da-lang].

Marr, D. G. (1984) Vietnamese tradition on trait, 1920-1945, London: University of California Press.

McCarter, R. (2016) The space within- Interior Experiences as the origin of architecture, London: Reaktion Books Ltd.

McLeod, M. W. (2001) Culture and customs of Vietnam, Westport, Conn. ; London: Greenwood Press.

Meusburger, P., Heffernan, M. and Wunder, E. (2011) Cultural Memories: The Geographical points of view, Knowledge and Space, Netherlands: Springer Netherlands.

Nesbitt (1996) Theorizing a new agenda for architecture : an anthology of architectural theory 1965-1995 / edited by Kate Nesbitt, Princeton Architectural P.

Nguyen, C. X. (2015) ‘Mot goc cua Ha Noi “thanh lich” nam 2015‘, [online], available: http://chauxuannguyen.org/2015/10/18/mot-goc-cua-ha-noi-thanh-lich-nam-2015/].

Nguyễn, V. n. H. and Kendall, L. (2003) Vietnam : journeys of body, mind, and spirit, America, London: The University of California Press.

Nisbett, R. E. (2003) The geography of thought : how Asians and Westerners think differently … and why, London: Nicholas Brealey.

Nuttgens, P. (1983) The story of architecture, Great Britain: Butler& Tanner Ltd.

Reeh, H. (2016) ‘Encountering empty architecture : Libeskind’s Jewish Museum Berlin‘, Journal of Art Historiography.

Robinson, J. W. (2006) Institution and home: Architecture as a cultural medium, The Netherlands: Techne Press.

Sabelli, H. (1998) ‘The union of opposites: from Taoism to process theory’, Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 15(5), 429-441.

Solheim, W. (1971) ‘New light on a forgotten past’, National Geographic, 139(3), 330.

teamLab (2018) ‘The way of the sea in the memory of Topography-Colours of life’, [online], available: https://www.teamlab.art/w/sea_topography/].

Templer, R. (1999) Shadows and wind: a view of modern Vietnam, New York: The Penguin Group.

Thuy, T. ‘Gia tri van hoa gieng lang‘, [online], available: http://disanlangviet.com/2109-2/].

Tran, N. T. (1996) Tim ve ban sac van hoa Viet Nam, Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh city Press.

Vinnitskaya, I. (2012) ‘Ground Zero Master plan- Studio Daniel Libeskind‘, [online], available: https://www.archdaily.com/272280/ground-zero-master-plan-studio-daniel-libeskind].

Wright, S. (2015) ‘Streets and Laneways of Ho Chi Minh city‘, [online], available: https://www.regularsteven.com/streets-and-laneways-of-ho-chi-minh-city/].

Previous article

[S01.2] Non-religious Spiritual space for social cohesion in Vietnam

Next article

Anthropocene and Appropriate Technology