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GROUP WALKING TOUR & FIELDWORK SESSIONS

DAY 1 | NGUYEN CONG TRU KTT

Nguyen Cong Tru is one of the oldest collective housing projects in Hanoi that was developed using French occupied land and still has vestiges from many time periods. At Nguyen Cong Tru, we were able to observe spaces of intersection between old and new, particularly at 3 sites: H4 yard, the intersection of Hanoi’s largest second-hand market and the dormitory area; the Funeral Home, the only remaining building in the Nguyen Cong Tru KTT from the French colonial period that is used today as a tennis club; and N3 yard, the intersection between the new redeveloped N3 apartment building and the original buildings of Nguyen Cong Tru KTT. These contrasts and the dense urban setting at Nguyen Cong Tru KTT left a big impression on each of the participants during the workshop’s first walking tour.

DAY 2 | KIM LIEN KTT

Kim Lien KTT, built in the early 1960s, is a pilot project built using the small panel assembly method, and was the first collective housing constructed according to the Soviet model of neighborhood units (microrayon). With consolidated functions from kindergartens and schools to shops and department stores in one area, the public space here is active and contains a diverse social life for residents until today. With the guidance of Prof. Christina Schwenkel, we learned to perceive the KTT through all senses beyond sight, including sounds (hearing), scents (smell) and objects/materials/textures (touch). The living and social spaces here can be viewed in a more multi-dimensional and diverse way through each participant's subjective feelings and experience.

DAY 3 | HAM TU QUAN KTT & THANH XUAN BAC KTT

In order to better understand different times, periods and historical contexts, we visited Ham Tu Quan KTT and Thanh Xuan Bac KTT, which clearly show how social change impacts the needs for living space. Ham Tu Quan KTT is one of the first experimental housing complexes of collective housing type in Hanoi. With a wooden structure from the 1960s, the building gives a unique look at what "collective housing" looked like before the prefabricated mass housing models that we are familiar with today.

We also had a visit to Thanh Xuan Bac KTT, one of the last collective housing projects built in Hanoi, using the large panel assembly method. Here, we had the opportunity to visit an apartment with typical characteristics of adaptation. The apartment has been expanded incrementally based on the development of the household, adding more members, and increasing standards of living.

NGUYEN CONG TRU KTT

(© Hanoi Ad Hoc)

KIM LIEN KTT

(© Hanoi Ad Hoc)

HAM TU QUAN KTT

(© Hanoi Ad Hoc)

THANH XUAN BAC KTT

(© Hanoi Ad Hoc)

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