Hanoi City has recently approved the proposal of Hoan Kiem District to establish a separate urban design project for the area north of Hoan Kiem Lake, the old town, with a focus on Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square.
The "Shark brothers" building is expected to be demolished and replaced with underground space.
Along with that, the Hanoi government has agreed to study the architectural plan for the eastern area of Hoan Kiem Lake in the direction of developing it into a special square area - park. At the same time, a careful survey will be conducted of valuable architectural works that need to be preserved and appropriate functions will be proposed.
The City People's Committee assigned relevant units to study the planning and organization of underground space in the area east of Hoan Kiem Lake (about three basements), connecting with the underground space of Station C9 of the No. 2 urban railway line (Nam Thang Long - Tran Hung Dao), and at the same time propose appropriate technical solutions to protect works that need to be preserved during the construction process.
The scope of the study to expand the public space east of Hoan Kiem Lake has an area of over 20,000 m2, involving about 11 agency headquarters and 40 households.
According to the Hanoi Department of Planning and Architecture, expanding public space around Hoan Kiem Lake is an important part of the overall planning implementation process.
The general planning of Hanoi Capital to 2045, with a vision to 2065, has determined the development orientation of Hoan Kiem Lake area towards preserving, renovating, embellishing and reorganizing space to create more public areas.
Director of the Department of Planning and Architecture Nguyen Trong Ky Anh said that after demolishing the "Shark brothers" building and re-planning the surrounding streets, this area will have a large space of about 1.2 hectares to serve cultural and artistic activities, especially during major celebrations of the capital.
"The eastern area of Hoan Kiem Lake and Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square are connected, so if it is possible to create a space connecting with historical relics and water- surface landscapes such as Hoan Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son Temple, Thap But, Ba Kieu Temple, it will be very beneficial for the capital" - Mr. Ky Anh assessed.
Currently, the Department of Planning and Architecture is coordinating with relevant units to complete its own urban design based on the idea and solution to organize the landscape architectural space of Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square.
The scope of urban design includes a street square, Dinh Tien Hoang double street, the surface of streets and roads (Dinh Tien Hoang, Cau Go, Hoan Kiem Lake street...), the surface of Long Van - Hong Van building, Hoan Kiem cultural information center and Thuy Ta building.
As for the "Ham ca ca ca" building with an area of nearly 500 m2, after being demolished, this space will be used as a traffic square, ensuring the connection between the old town, Hoan Kiem Lake and adjacent streets such as Dinh Liet, Cau Go, creating a synchronous overall traffic space.
Mr. Pham Tuan Long, Chairman of Hoan Kiem District People's Committee, said that creating a space connecting historical relics such as Hoan Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son Temple, Thap But and Ba Kieu Temple will contribute to creating a unique cultural space and landscape, while enhancing the value of the capital.
After completing the design plan, Hoan Kiem District will chair a consultation with the City Architecture Council to ensure the suitability and effectiveness of the reorganization of the architectural space and landscape.
