On architecture

I certainly don’t think of Vietnam when I think of contemporary architecture. (For those of you who don’t know, I LOVE contemporary architecture and design — almost as much as I love eating. That’s saying a lot!) A few nights ago, I had a really great conversation with one of my cousins (who is an architect here) about his vision for architecture in Vietnam. It was really amazing to hear what he had to say (This is what I think he was trying to say. My Vietnamese is pretty spotty in this realm. How do you say “deconstructionist” again?) He says that he hopes to help change Vietnamese society through the buildings. He says that he feels that the society has a glass ceiling – the people are constantly copying the ideas of other people, but aren’t creating brand new ideas of their own. By changing the style of one’s surroundings, you change the way that people think and relate to one another. So he hopes to create a more creative, forward thinking, openly associating society.

It was so amazing to see some of his designs. He’s really good! (Almost half of the pictures he brought in were images of his buildings in magazines!) His buildings have an open, airy, almost ethereal feel as well as an organic edge evocative of Frank Gehry. I designed my potential future house when I was in college and haven’t thought about it for a couple of years, but now I think I’ll have my cousin design my house!