THE MARVELLOUS IRONWORK OF THE WINDOWS OF VIETNAM

Look at those windows and doors adorned with fancy ironwork. They are marvellous. Are they not?

There is so much beauty in Vietnam. The ironwork on many windows (and doors and balconies) of Vietnamese houses makes you look, and then look a little longer. Somebody described it as the beautiful eyelashes of a young girl. Like snow crystals and fingerprints, no two are alike. Each one is the product of its time and place. Each one the outcome of decisions influenced by architectural trends, and by the individual taste of craftsmen and customers.

Knowledge gives meaning to the things we see. I want to learn more about the history, designs and styles of Vietnamese ironwork. The French brought iron smithing technology to Vietnam during the construction of the Hanoi – Yunnan railway that opened in 1910. They also built palaces, courts and schools featuring ironwork, making it a sign of modernity and elegance. Ironwork quickly became the typical decoration of villas and houses, with designs that mix Western and Vietnamese patterns. In very early ironwork different elements were bolted together, before the arrival of welding techniques.

This is a very long list of windows and doors – not from grand buildings and palaces, but from vernacular architecture in the streets of Da Nang, Hue, Hoi An and Hanoi. I have grouped ironwork by decorative styles based on my understanding of design trends and personal observations.

It is not boring, to scroll down a long parade of beautiful ironwork. It is a marvellous thing to do. Enjoy.

Traditional Styles

Older traditional designs are often a combination of typical Vietnamese elements and French colonial styles. Traditional elements were also a source of inspiration for subsequent styles. The curly motif appears frequently in older traditional styles. It is a visual connection to the neoclassical and Art Nouveau-inspired curls and curves of ironwork in early colonial architecture.

In the centre, the stylised thọ 壽 character. This character is linked to the Sanxing deities (Fu, Lu and Shou), the gods of the three stars and the three qualities of Prosperity, Status, and Longevity. Tho is Longevity (with thanks to Mr Trương Trần Trung Hiếu)
Rounded curly motifs recall the early ironwork of colonial architecture
Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2018

The design may be inspired by the traditional pattern of the stylized Á 亞 character. This design element is found in numerous modernist designs that sought inspiration from traditional models (with thanks to Mr Trương Trần Trung Hiếu)
Vietnam, Hue, Spring 2019

The rounded curly motif features frequently in older traditional styles (Vietnam, Hue, Spring 2019)
Curly ironwork on balcony (Hanoi, Cong Cafe, Spring 2019)
Older traditional ironwork with rounded curly motifs (Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2018)
Curly motifs in older traditional styles (Vietnam, Da Nang, Spring 2019)
Older traditional ironwork motifs: note the rounded curly motifs (Vietnam, Hanoi, Summer 2017)
Da Nang, Autumn 2018 Older traditional style
Old house in central Hanoi (Hanoi, Spring 2019)
Vietnam, Hue,
Vietnam, Da Nang, Spring 2019
Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2018

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Art Deco Styles

Art Deco-inspired designs are streamlined, sleek and geometric, with simplified smooth lines and rounded edges.

The design on this window reminds me of the ironwork of the wonderful Goethe Institut in Hanoi
Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2018

Motifs like these appear to me as simplified Art Deco designs in vernacular architecture (Vietnam, Hue, Spring 2019)
These designs appear to me as simplified Art Deco motifs in vernacular architecture (Hoi An, Summer 2017)
Art Deco-inspired designs (Hanoi, Spring 2019)

Modernist Styles

It was wonderful to discover Vietnamese Modernism. Like many before me, I am especially in awe of the unexpected and original forms and shapes it takes in vernacular architecture.

One of the key principles of Modernist architecture is a rational and analytical approach to function and materials. It is characterised by asymmetrical compositions, minimalism in ornamentation, and an emphasis on volume. Modernist buildings are well suited to the Vietnamese climate, and Modernism became its primary architectural style of the 20th Century.

Mel Schenck is an architect who has researched Vietnamese Modernism in depth. He writes about how Vietnam embraced the principles and aesthetic of Modernism and made its own brand of Modernist architecture. The years from 1940 to 1975 are considered the golden age of Vietnamese Modernism, both for large public buildings and apartment blocks, and for private housing in residential streets. In Vietnam, Modernism made itself at home. Through experimentation, it took on distinctive vernacular characteristics not found elsewhere.

The Vietnamese like their houses to look unique, and both homeowners and architects are open to new ideas. In Vietnamese culture there is a feeling for beauty. It is by nature eclectic. It is oriented towards the future and modernity. The combination of these elements make it possible for the Vietnamese to continue developing a contemporary Modernism that is richer than western varieties.

Function, and form. The ironwork is primarily functional. A lot of care and imagination is also put into its form. The abstract ideas of international design trends combine with the creativity of local makers to inform the material shape of objects in such beautiful ways.

Vietnam, Hue, Spring 2019
Vietnam, Da Nang, Autumn 2018
This is the Á character pattern 亞亜. It is one of the most familiar patterns, used everywhere from national Modernist designs like the Independence Palace and the National library in Saigon, to vernacular houses (with thanks to Mr Trương Trần Trung Hiếu) (Vietnam, Hue, Spring 2019)
Modernist motifs (Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2018)
Modernist design (Vietnam, Da Nang, Spring 2019)
Vietnam, Hue, Spring 2019
Vietnam, Da Nang, Autumn 2018 Modernism in vernacular architecture
Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2019
Vietnam, Hoi An, Spring 2019 Looking out from the inside through ironwork with Modernist motifs
Modernism in vernacular architecture (Vietnam, Da Nang, Spring 2019)
Modernism in vernacular architecture (Vietnam, Da Nang, Spring 2019)
Vietnam, Da Nang,
Modernism – detail (Vietnam, Da Nang, Spring 2019)

These windows are in the same house in Hoi An: three windows, three variations on the same pattern.

Vietnam, Hoi An, Spring 2019
Vietnam, Hoi An, Spring 2019
Vietnam, Hoi An, Spring 2019

Combining Designs

Some ironwork combines motifs and elements from different styles into a single design.

The central circle is the stylized thọ 壽 character. The scrolls and wave patterns are more likely Art Nouveau and Art Deco, respectively (with thanks to Mr Trương Trần Trung Hiếu). The rounded curly design is reminiscent of older traditional styles (Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2018)
Modernism on the left, Art Nouveau and Art Deco on the right (Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2018)
A house dressed in a combination of ironwork styles (Vietnam, Hue, Autumn 2018)
Stylised traditional characters, curly patterns reminiscent of older neoclassical designs, wave patterns from Art Deco (Vietnam, Hue, Spring 2019)
Hue, Spring 2019
The central circle is stylized thọ 壽 character. The scrolls and bud patterns are more likely Art Nouveau and Art Deco, respectively. Curly patterns are found in older traditional styles (Vietnam, Hue, Spring 2019)
A mix of Art Nouveau and Art Deco (Vietnam Hue, Spring 2019)