answered about 1 month ago by wwu2
I'm also interested in this question because I haven't figured out what the difference is either, and I'm already in Hanoi. At the very least I can tell you what I've found.
While house hunting I have only seen the 5-floor-narrow-house variety, and these places are targeted towards expats... so I'm confused if these are the 'Vietnamese'-style houses--what and where are the so-called foreigner ones?
-Possibility #1: they are hideously expensive/exclusive homes and therefore in an area I haven't been looking;
-Possibility #2: it means high-rise apartment style (which I also haven't seen much of, but I've been looking mainly in the centre of town).
Anyone have a better answer?
answered about 1 month ago by virezo
Well, answer this question is not easy. I'm not an architect so I don't know much a bout houses' styles. I hope I can make it as clear as possible for you.
Vietnamese suburb traditional style has 3 rooms with a big front door, red tiles roof. The house is surrounded 3 sides by garden. The front side has a ground between the house and its gate.
You can find this style in any village of Vietnam. I suggest you take a trip to old village Đường Lâm near Hanoi. They still keep it like hundreds year ago.
Because the French colonised Vietnam a long time ago that's why most Vietnamese urban houses are French style: thick walls, yellow , green wooden windows and red tiles roof. The house is in the middle of garden.
This style you can see in Hanoi. In the Old Quarter of Hanoi, there're some old houses of this style "survive".
The third style was created after "doi moi". It's the worst and annoying style of all. People rushed into metropolises, find a tiny land and build up their houses as high as possible. The house is surrounded 3 sides by... other houses. They may be narrow or commodious but don't have any... style. You make your own house style. Government was failed to control housing in many cities for a long time and houses have been growing up in a mess.
Sometimes, people call it Vietnamese house style as a sarcasm but we don't even think it's a style. We call them "nhà ống" (nhà=house, ống=pipe).
Now thing's getting better with new schemed residential areas in big cities.
