AsiaLIFE Shophouse City (Joep Janssen)

8/7/2019 AsiaLIFE Shophouse City (Joep Janssen)

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t is ve oclock in the morning inCholon when the rst residentswake up. Ater they complete theirmorning workouts and eat a bowlopho, the shops open. At the KimBien Market, women are alreadybusy selling their goods. A little

urther down the road at Thien Hau Pagodaon Nguyen Trai one o the Buddhists tells methat the building is dedicated to the ChineseGod o the Sea, who protects shermen andmaritime merchants.

Throughout the early days o Cholonto-day HCM Citys Chinatownthis help wouldhave been very necessary. In the middle othe 18th century, many people rom FujianProvince in China undertook a sea voyageto Southern Vietnam. Near Saigon they builtthe twin city Cholon. River networks ormedthis trade centre on the embankments othe Chinese arroyo, a tributary o the SaigonRiver. By combining markets, places o wor-ship and shophouses, Cholons developerscreated a vibrant economy. Not or nothing

the Vietnamese call it the big market.Cholon can be seen as the cradle o the

shophouse in HCM City. In these narrowand very deep row houses, trading activitiestake place on the ground foor and residentialaccommodations are located on the upperfoor. This typology is not only indigenousto the old Cholon District. It has become astandard eature o HCM Citys identity thatis interwoven with its social environment. Forthis reason, the shophouse is a repository ostories, refecting the inhabitants way o lie.To better understand the role o the shop-house within the city, one needs to examinethe origin. Although the exact evolution isunclear, there are strong indications thatthe shophouse typology traces back to theNetherlands.

East Meets WestIn many ways, HCM City looks like Am-sterdam in the Netherlandsat least whennarrowing your eyes to look at the build-ings. The combination o living and working

is similar to the concept o the Dutch canalhouse. At the beginning o the 17th century,this multiunctional building was invented aspart o Amsterdams ambitious city exten-sion. The houses were very narrow and deepdue to high land prices along the waterways.Thus, the row house was the perect solutionto maximize the amount o houses that couldreap the nancial benets o being situated onthe water.

At the same time that Dutch cities wereexperiencing economic growth, the UnitedDutch East India Company was gainingstrength as well. This international tradingcompany built colonial settlements overseas,using urban and architectural knowledgegained in the Netherlands. The spatial organi-zation o the Dutch city was also exported toBatavia, now the Indonesian capital o Jakarta,the main Dutch trading port in Southeast Asia.Within this new city the canal house becamethe most important architectural typology.

Batavia was a unique place in SoutheastAsia in which the urban cultures o both the

Dutch and the Chinese came together. Youcould say that the Dutch ruled the city andthe Chinese dominated business, but bothpopulations helped to build Batavia romscratch. Just like in Amsterdam, the housesalong the waterways within Chinese port cit-ies were ocused on trade, and the Chinesehouse concept was similar to that o themerchant houses in Amsterdam. The typol-ogy o narrow and deep row houses provedto be a good solution or population growthand was implemented to solve both housingproblems and commercial needs. During the17th century these similarities between Chinaand the Netherlands continued to strengthenin Batavia.

This meeting between both populationsresulted in a mixture o the Dutch canal houseand Chinese liestyle. With t rade fourishingin Southeast Asian cities at the time, its pos-sible that the shophouse concept spread ur-ther. In this process, the Chinese rather thanthe Dutch may have exported the knowledgeand skills rom Batavia to Vietnam. First in

Hanoi, later in HCM City, the Chinesenarrow, deep row houses. Many o tnese in Cholon are descendants o timmigrants. To this day, Chinese chaon shop ronts show many o these still live here.

The Neo-ShophouseThe area around Phu Dinh Street is aneighbourhood with excellent examthe old shophouse style. Out o onehouses sounds traditional Chinese mHalway down the street is a house aseven that appeared in the French mL'Amant, an adaptation o MargueritThe Lover. However, the owner saysmost none o the interior had been r"The beautiul interior in that movie win France. Only the aade o my houo the movie."

He points out that in a ew housesthe road some old details are visiblesymmetrical acade is still in good shremarkable because the original aa

Despite its dominant appearance in the contemporary urban abric o HCM City, the

shophouse is threatened by many orces. Joep Janssen speaks with residents about

the strength o the old shophouse and the increasing actors that are threatening this

hallmark o HCM Citys townscape. Photos by Jay Zhang.

Lack o protection in the ace

o economic growth and

modernization has led to a rapid

deterioration o the old shophouses

and loss o a signicant part o

HCM City's built heritage.

Shophouse City


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30 aslife HCMC aslife

almost every house in the old block has beenreplaced by a sliding steel door. The windowsare open on both sides o the green woodendoor. Like all other houses nearby, it is ullo four sacks. The inhabitants say that thehouse is about 80 years old. In the past, many

amily members lived in the house. There areonly our let. "Long ago," says the owner,expensive goods were hidden between theceiling and roo.

Further on in Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street,Vo Van Thaia distinguished 75-year oldownersits back in his chair. He shows anold photo o his house. Around 1890 thehouse was designed by the French and builtby the Vietnamese, and it contains materialsrom dierent countries, like France, Chinaand Vietnam. In the old days the ground foor

The shophouse is a repository o

stories, refecting the inhabitants

way o lie.

grained ways o lie, ideals and signs o amilywealth. For example, many houses have aprayer room on top o the house to worshipancestors. In addition, the neo-shophousesintegrate all dierent kinds o architecturalstyles. This eclecticism results in a motley col-

lection o neo-Gothic, Baroque and Classicalallusions.

Protecting Architectural HeritageAlong Luong Nhu Hoc Street is an old build-ing divided into several houses. Upon enteringone o these houses an antique sculpturenext to the altar draws attention. This ancientlion, the owner says is about 150 years oldand the main amily inheritance. Ater thishistorical note she points at a Chinese signoutside on the aade and just above street

was used as a Chinese medicine shop. Now-adays the ground foor is an empty space. Itshows the harsh reality o economic transor-mation that touches the shophouse. Despitethis uncertainty, he describes the house asa souvenir that will never be sold, because it

represents the continuity o the amily history.The traditional shophouse o two stories

has evolved over time into the multi-storeybuildings we see today, in which the courtyardhas been minimized because o commercialneeds. This makes people less connectedto daily street lie, but the neo-shophouse inHCM City guarantees a lively architecture.These houses display a wide range o heights,aade widths, materials and colours. Muchattention is paid to the acades and thebalconies contained therein, which show en-

level. It is an ode to the rst people living inthe neighbourhood and the community whomade this building. It becomes clear thatthe old building was a temple. The templehas been transormed and has been dividedinto several, separated shophouses. These

beautiul, hidden historical signs are still vis-ible in the street and dene Cholons geniusloci. The owner explains why the interior andexterior still have the historical atmosphere:The house has never been repaired, becausethe grandmother doesnt allow the amily tochange history.

Lack o protection in the ace o economicgrowth and modernization has led to a rapiddeterioration o the old shophouses andloss o a signicant part o HCM City's builtheritage. Residents demolish the old buildings

because neo-shophouses are more protable.Besides, unds, planning and regulation tomaintain and preserve traditional shophousesand old residential areas is lacking. Butrecently, HCM Citys Department o Culture,Sports and Tourism completed an inventory o

historical and cultural relics in the city. This is agood rst step to achieve a balance betweennew and old urban abrics that is economi-cally attractive and mindul o the need topreserve the citys historical atmosphere oruture generations.

Over the years, the compact shop houseproved to have a strong urban character, withqualities such as high density and fexible use.This building type has served as warehouse,workshop, house, shop, hotel and oce.Thereore the uture plans or the city should

take into account the unique historiccultural sites and shophouses in ChoGiven their potential as tourist attracevery new urban plan should be intein existing structures to maintain theatmosphere within the city. Then HC

is able to position itsel as a shophouin which heritage nds its spot on theagenda.

Joep Janssen is a Dutch architect. Hstudied architecture at the Technicasity in Delt and Berlin and conducteMekong Metropolis project on the imurbanization and climate change in VMekong Delta. He recently establisharchitectural frm JNSN. Email: joepcom. Website: www.jnsn.com.

AsiaLIFE Shophouse City (Joep Janssen)

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