You may think the building in the middle of this photograph is a global International Style modernist building. It is not. The taller building behind it, designed by an American architect, is. What is the difference? International Style buildings are almost always glass and metal boxes or tubes, have smooth skins, and express the floor levels with horizontality. The building in the middle does not — It has variation in its glass and metal skin because vertical components were added that give the skin depth and detail. The building expresses some of its functions, beyond just office space, with the insets that may represent more ceremonial spaces. The Vietnamese building is a more vibrant human-scaled building. This is an addition to the HCMC branch of the National Treasury, occupied in 2007. Vietnamese architects Nguyễn Trường Lưu and Ngô Đằng Vân designed this building, and it is a Vietnamese modernist building.
Comments