Saigon Central Post Office

architechu

Post Office Carrying History (feat. Gustave Eiffel)
-
Gustave Eiffel, as the name suggests, is the designer of the Eiffel Tower, a symbol of Paris. At that time, the Eiffel Tower was held for the World's Fair [think of it as the present World Expo]. At that time, it was very important to design a space that would become a symbol of the expo as it was a place to show off the national power of Western countries. It is because it is symbolized by the concentration of the state-of-the-art technology and art at the time. However, today, I do not want to tell the story of Gustave Eiffel, but the story of the Central Post Office in Ho Chi Minh City.
-
Ho Chi Minh is now a French colony, though it continues to be told through several Vietnamese stories. Therefore, many French buildings built during the colonial period remain here. The story that focuses on this will be dealt with at the end of the Vietnamese content. One of those spaces, this building, was completed in 1891. 'Eugist Henri Buildeu' and 'Alfred Paul Hongs' were the space experts, and 'Gustave Eiffel' was the one who solved the huge sense of space here with a modern structure.
-
As such, it is a well-built building in European style. Even the sidewalk blocks on the floor are similar to Europe. In particular, this central post office was used as a postal and telegraph facility in French Indochina at the time. The scene shown by the space left after the colonial period is unique in that it is being used in modern times similar to that shown in the past. There are often such buildings in Korea as well. This is now the case with #Korea Electric Power Corporation Seoul Headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, and #Woori Bank Jongno Financial Center in Jongno. Both are used for the same purpose as the space used during the Japanese colonial period.
-
However, if this space is a little different from the ones in Korea, it is that it is a space in which a very famous structural designer participated, and at the same time, it is a facility that can be used and used by both locals and foreigners alike. It may have been difficult to construct a new building, which was often difficult in the circumstances of the past. In that case, it would be much more advantageous to make good use of the remaining facilities. It was brief while telling the story of Mullae-dong in the past, but the Mullae-dong complex, which was built as a lodging village for workers who would make munitions during the Japanese colonial period, was also remodeled and used according to the decisions of the Korean people after liberation.
-
Although it is a space intertwined with various historical facts, the appreciation given by this space has architectural value. Since the post office is simply a space for exchanging letters, it doesn't have to feel so huge and grand, but it is here. Light falls under the grand ceiling and it is easy to see Vietnamese and foreign people alike sending letters or parcels using this post office. In particular, communication and souvenirs are sold in places that stand on either side of the entrance. It is also a space where you can feel like you are really sightseeing when you look around the post office and look at souvenirs.
-
How to use the space left in the past in the present? is a very important story. Space also has the function of recording the facts of history with its existence. As such, it serves as a device to keep people from forgetting that fact, and by making good use of it, it also contains the message that 'it has already risen from the ground up'.
-
A living history book that is well used in the present era, rather than an unused space like the exhibits in a museum, will come closer to conveying the historical facts more vividly.
-
This is a post office carrying history #saigoncentralpostoffice.
-
Location_ 02 Công xã Paris, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh 70000 Vietnam
-
no parking
-
Business Hours _ 07:30~17:00 [Closed on Sundays]
-
No entrance fee
-
PS. This space is operating in accordance with the Vietnam Corona Prevention Guidelines. Please note that there is no inconvenience in using the space.