Mr. Maurice Nguyen happily said: “What is my family history? More than 50 years ago, in Paris, the school organized a tour for us to visit the Opéra Garnier - the super large theater of Paris, France. With the eyes of a 10-year-old child, I was very impressed with the grandeur of this building. That evening, when I came home to have dinner with my parents, telling the story of my visit to the Opéra Garnier, my mother told me: “My child, my parents' hometown in Hanoi also has a very beautiful large theater, that theater was built by your great-grandfather. Your great-grandfather was French, came to Vietnam in the late 19th century to work as an architect for Hanoi and participated in many projects in Hanoi. The largest and most famous project is the Hanoi Opera House”.
Mr. Maurice Nguyen - great-grandson of architect François Charles Lagisquet tells the story of his family's architectural heritage during his return to Hanoi.
With the story told by his mother - a woman from Hanoi, Mr. Maurice Nguyen always nurtured a great desire. And the opportunity came, in 1992, for the first time Maurice Nguyen set foot in Hanoi, the hometown of his parents. From that moment on, he always wanted to visit the construction site of his great-grandfather who had participated in building.
“Before returning to Hanoi, my father also asked me: “Try to visit the old school I attended in Hanoi, Grand Lycée Albert Saraut,” said Mr. Maurice Nguyen.
Mr. Maurice Nguyen was also quite humorous when describing his journey to explore Hanoi: “After checking in at Thang Long Hotel in West Lake, I quickly rented a cyclo, at that time there were not many taxis, to visit 2 constructions related to my family. After visiting the Hanoi Opera House, it was very convenient, at that time Hanoi did not have many vehicles like today, the theater had not been repaired, painted, or renovated. Although not as beautiful as it is now, the atmosphere and roads around the theater were very beautiful, making me feel very romantic about the construction that my great-grandfather built.
I continued to ask the cyclo driver to take me to visit the Grand Lycée Albert Saraut, but he did not know where the school was, so I had to ask 3-4 colleagues before he could finally take me there. When I got to the main gate of the school, I just got off the gate to take pictures, when 2 police officers came and said: "You are not allowed to take pictures here, please go somewhere else". I did not know why, but when I got back on the cyclo to the hotel and asked the driver, I found out that it was no longer the school, but the Central Party Office . My father was very happy to receive the 2 pictures that I took before the police officers reminded me".
Hanoi Opera House is considered one of the cultural symbols of the capital.
Mr. Maurice Nguyen said he was very proud that his great-grandfather's contribution to Hanoi's architectural heritage was part of his family's heritage. With respect for his great-grandfather, he took the time to return to Hanoi, Vietnam, to work with his colleagues on the book "Hanoi Architecture - Vietnamese - French Cultural Exchange", with the hope of "awakening" the architectural heritage of the capital.
The capital Hanoi is constantly changing but still retains its familiar features, so the team making the book had a subtle approach to "reading" this special architecture. In the book, readers approach and learn more about the Temple of Literature, One Pillar Pagoda, representing the thousand-year-old culture of Hanoi; the Hanoi Opera House, Hoa Lo Prison or the Vietnam History Museum are the marks of the colonial period; the Long Bien Bridge across the Red River, with its rusty color that seems to blend with the river, is a testament to the technological advances of more than a century ago...
Hanoi Opera House has long been a destination, a place to hold important cultural and artistic events of the country.
Each building and each relic in the book is not only an architectural story but also a slice of Hanoi's history.
“We ourselves are very moved to receive the work. We believe that the book contributes significantly to awakening the urban architecture of Hanoi, a place that deserves to be awakened the most in Vietnam and awakened in a worthy and attractive way. If we have good behaviors towards heritage, then that heritage will be promoted in contemporary development, creating a great driving force for economic development, which as we often say today is the cultural economy. The person who has the word update is developing the cultural industry,” said Mr. Maurice Nguyen.
HA ANH
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