Architect Tran Huy Anh said that the "Shark Jaw" building has received many negative comments since its completion in the 1990s. Therefore, he supports demolishing this building, reserving land for public space at Hoan Kiem Lake, and expanding Dong Kinh - Nghia Thuc Square.
Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Duong Duc Tuan has just agreed with the proposal of departments and branches to demolish the "Shark Jaw" building. After demolishing "Shark Jaw", this area will be converted into underground space, and at the same time, Dong Kinh - Nghia Thuc Square will be expanded.
Agreeing with the demolition of “Shark Jaws”, the leaders of Hanoi People’s Committee assigned the authorities to study the construction of 3 basements in this area with the function of cultural and commercial space (basement 1); parking area (basement 2 and 3). Hanoi leaders noted that in case of no parking arrangement, the basement can be used as a dual-use space.
Construction stopped due to many criticisms
Speaking to VietNamNet reporter, architect Tran Huy Anh (Standing member of Hanoi Architects Association) said that the "Shark Jaw" building at 7 Dinh Tien Hoang street (Hoan Kiem district) was built in early 1990 and completed in 1993. During the construction process, this building encountered many conflicting opinions from urban planning experts as well as residents.
“The rough part of the building is quite beautiful, graceful, and blends in with the space of Hoan Kiem Lake. This is consistent with the original design of architect Ta Xuan Van. However, at that time, the author and the Hanoi government also received many negative comments about the “Shark Jaw” architecture, so they had to stop and then hand it over to another architect to fix it,” said Mr. Tran Huy Anh.
However, according to architect Tran Huy Anh, the more the "Shark Jaw" building is renovated, the uglier it becomes, losing its original charm and no longer "relying on" the space of Hoan Kiem Lake and Dong Kinh - Nghia Thuc Square.
“This makes architect Ta Xuan Van even more sad, because he wanted to beautify Hoan Kiem Lake but did not have the opportunity,” said Mr. Anh.
No more constructions should be built at Hoan Kiem Lake.
Regarding Hanoi City's decision to demolish the "Shark Jaws" building, Architect Tran Huy Anh said that this is the wish of many generations of Hanoians and architects.
“This is a historic event, a breakthrough action, contributing to changing the mindset when seeing Hanoi land as just a giant real estate for profit. We must create public spaces that benefit people today and tomorrow,” said Mr. Tran Huy Anh.
According to Mr. Tran Huy Anh, architects like him and previous generations, especially architect Le Van Lan (author of Hanoi Children's Palace) always believe that no more structures should be built around Hoan Kiem Lake, but only 'removed'. And this is being realized by the Hanoi City government.
Mr. Tran Huy Anh supports the demolition of the "Shark Jaw" building, which has been infamous and controversial for more than 30 years, as well as the demolition and relocation of a number of agency headquarters on the east side of Hoan Kiem Lake (Dinh Tien Hoang Street area) such as the Northern Power Corporation, the National Power Transmission Corporation, the Hanoi Power Corporation, the Department of Culture - Sports and dozens of households.
“The capital city of Hanoi was previously planned for 250,000 people, but now it has nearly 10 million people. Therefore, expanding public space is a natural thing,” Mr. Tran Huy Anh added.
Architect Tran Huy Anh said that many years ago, architects had raised the idea of demolishing “Shark Jaws” or relocating some offices around Hoan Kiem Lake. Specifically, in 2009, in the design competition for the Hoan Kiem Lake area and surrounding areas, many works mentioned this issue.
However, at that time, the authors were still cautious, not mentioning specific works and architectures that had to be relocated, for fear of affecting the interests of the investor.
"Personally, I and many experts currently support the determination to demolish and relocate many structures in Hoan Kiem Lake, reserving the area for public space. This is a breakthrough thinking because it eliminates material benefits, bringing a cultural space worthy of the 1000-year-old capital of Hanoi," added architect Tran Huy Anh.
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Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/ham-ca-map-nhan-che-bai-tu-khi-xay-dung-can-pha-bo-danh-dat-cho-ho-hoan-kiem-2377968.html
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