Hommel Beer Factory
BIA HOI CULTURE'S ORIGIN: FROM A COLONICAL DRINKING TO A CULTURE OF URBAN DWELLERS
Introduction
Before the French colonization, Vietnam had a long history of rice alcohol production. The beer industry was created in 1892 by Alfred Hommel, founder of Hommel Brewery (Brasserie Hommel) in Hanoi. Along with the Larue Brewery (Brasserie Larue) in Saigon, the Hommel Brewery was one of the two biggest breweries in Indochina.
Beer was the drink that seemed most suitable in the Indochina climate. At first, beer was mainly consumed by the French, then it became more and more popular with local Vietnamese people.
Besides water, the ingredients used by the Hommel Brewery were malted barley and hops imported from Europe and a proportion of rice (preferably denitrogenated). The difficulty was not in the purchase of ingredients of first quality, but in purifying water used, acquiring expensive brewing equipment, and adapting it to the hot and humid climate of Hanoi. Another challenge for the production of bottled beer was transportation. The brewery came up with the idea of producing a draft beer called bia hoi sold in kegs instead of bottles. Over time, bia hoi became a staple of Vietnamese culture and it remains so to this day.
Name: Brasserie Hommel / Société de la Brasserie Hommel / Société des Brasseries et Glacières de l'Indochine / Hanoi Brewery / Hanoi Brewery Company / Hanoi Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Corporation (Habeco)
Location: 183 Hoang Hoa Tham, Ha Noi
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Chronological timeline
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Agents
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Investigations
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Architectural and Urban preliminary assessment
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Perspective / Thematic / Narrative point of view
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Bibliography
(Re)Thinking
the modern dream of Recent past
Laureate
A Room for Hanoi
TEAM DATA
ID:
JF849
Team name:
Team member:
Contact:
Sum suê
Alfie Gee, Thục Anh Dương (Co-design)
Xintong Chen (Assistance)
TEAM INTERVIEW
1. Why did you choose this site and what issue do you see here?
The site was chosen due to the variety in its surroundings: a big road (Nguyễn Trãi Road) with sky train, old workers’ housing, small alleys with self-built houses, a strong local high street with markets, the canal side, and the domination of Vinhomes Royal City over the road. Thượng Đình is an area built around the Cao-Xà-Lá complex, and many of the people who first moved there to work in the factories in the 60s and 70s are still local, sitting out on the street watching the kids play.
We visited the site firsthand despite the limited time of the competition. It is crucial when designing for an active post-industrial town that the scale and ongoing changes are understood. This includes the extremely dense housing, the ongoing use of the Đình system, and how communal courtyards are heavily used. The vibrant high street paired with congestion and pollution.
The post-industrial vibrancy must be properly fostered, with more dedicated and designed spaces, better local facilities. New low-cost housing should be built and designed with plenty of public communal spaces, to alleviate the overcrowding. The new space should create room for the current activities to grow and be really centred in their communities.
2. How do you define utopia?
The original definition of Utopia is ‘no place’.
We define Utopia as the process of trying to find something better. When applying to an urban scale, it is the shared process in creating a better city and society. This Utopian process engages everyone in making a better future.
Utopia’s a “no place”, but utopian promise can be seen everywhere every day.
Utopia’s promise and the process of inching closer to it creates it own meaning and satisfaction. An urban context is always in a process of renewal, it’s an ad-hoc superstructure, which makes it a perfect site of utopian (or dystopian) promise.
Utopia’s found in imagining, discussing, workshopping, and sharing the plans for the better tomorrow.
Utopia’s always on the move.
3. Are you experienced in handling this issue? Tell us more about your source of inspiration.
Both of us have worked separately in the United Kingdom on adaptive reuse projects, and Alfie’s worked on reusing neglected industrial sites, spaces that carry a lot of potential due to their large spans and robust construction.
But really the designed element of this project is the perimeter block, which has a few key references. The mega-block and ground treatment has been influenced by Sewoon Sangha in Seoul, which was recently refurbished after years of neglect. Then there’s the work of current French architects like Bruther (particularly how they engage with the road on their Maison Julie-Victoire Daubié) and Muoto, who are reclaiming an infrastructural approach to public building. The entire mixed-use flexible arrangements are pulling from Dogma, the super-thin border block on their Frame(s) project being a particular example.
The idea of a loose-fit approach that allows a lot of autonomy for people over time binds the experience of these references and is the central intention with our project.
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Frame(s) by Dogma
Bruther's Building
