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
Ad Hoc Talk 04:
From cottage industrialization to in-situ urbanization
Co-organized by Ha Noi Ad Hoc and UN-Habitat Vietnam; with support from School of Communication & Design - RMIT Vietnam, Architecture Magazine of Vietnam Association of Architects, and Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Urbanization in the Global South.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: PROF. SYLVIE FANCHETTE
GUESTS: DR. LE QUYNH CHI; DR. PHAM THAI SON
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This is the fourth talk in the ADHOC TALK series of “Hanoi Ad Hoc 1.0: Architecture, Factories and (Re)Tracing the Modern Dream of Recent Past.”
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Less than one hour drive away from Hanoi are over 500 specialist craft villages, well known for producing an array of religious products as well as food, industrial goods, and much more. Throughout the formation of the Vietnamese civilization, these traditional craft villages have formed and developed naturally into residential communities. From their intangible role, they have constantly provided tangible objects.
Since Đổi Mới, a thousand clusters of craft villages have modernized and diversified their products around Hanoi, attracting thousands of workers locally and remotely. This cottage industrialization has led to a process of in-situ urbanization in the Red River Delta countryside, which led to a surge in population density, industrial services, trade, and accommodation for migrant workers.
Will the development of these handicraft villages/cooperatives stand separately from industrial factories in the process of industrialization and modernization? How is the individual and collective relationship between the indigenous dwarfs and the giants - industrial factories, and their interactions with the city from the perspective of development researchers?
Hope you will join us in finding the answers from the experiences of Our Keynote Speaker: Professor. Sylvie FANCHETTE and Our Guests: Dr. Le Quynh Chi and Dr. Pham Thai Son in this conversation.
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KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
PROF. SYLVIE FANCHETTE - geographer, research director at French Institute of Research for Sustainable Development (IRD); Hanoi Ad Hoc core-team member
GUESTS:
DR. LE QUYNH CHI - Deputy Head of Urban Planning Department, HUCE
DR. PHAM THAI SON - Senior Lecturer in Urban Economics at Vietnamese-German University; Sustainable Urban Development (SUD) master study program; Urban development consultant for UN-Habitat Vietnam
Facilitated by Michal Teague, Lecturer in Design Studies at RMIT Hanoi City campus.
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