Phuong Nam mansion: Blended identities

A mystery lies in the middle of District 3

When people first see the Phuong Nam mansion (Fig. 1), they may describe it as “a haunted house”. We can see the intricate and beautifully constructed details and layout, but it is currently in a degraded state and appears to have been abandoned for a long time. However, the property was recently sold for a whopping 35 million US dollars. What a cost!, you might think. You may have seen such a price on a house before, but for a fancy private mansion in a famous location. Why would a mansion that appears to be old and run-down achieve such a high price? Is it because of its location? Or because of the house’s history? And who would be wealthy enough to pay such price? This page will provide you the details to know more about the Phuong Nam mansion.

A multi-purpose structure.

Phuong Nam mansion was constructed during French colonial times, specifically in 1927, on the initiative of Nguyen Van Nhieu, a wealthy businessman who made his fortune in precious metals and stones (Doling 2015). He stayed there until 1942, when he decided to rent it out.

However, it was not until 1946 that the French air force became the first to rent the mansion for the purpose of establishing a temporary headquarters there. In 1949, the Fédération Française de Basketball (French Basketball Federation) established their second office.

Mrs. Tran Thi Nen and her husband then purchased the estate for their wedding in 1950 and resided there their whole life long. Her descendants owned the house until 2015, when they sold it to Minerva. Parts of the massive building remained rented to tenants during their ownership.

Nguyen Van Linh (1915–1998), later General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, lived here from 1955 to 1960, after moving south to take on the role of Secretary of the Sai Gon-Gia Đinh Special Zone Committee. Tan Van High School, which held classes in the building from 1959 to 1975, was another tenant in the 1960s. During the 2000s, antique shops rented the front yard as well (Villa le Voile 2022;  Doling 2015).

Figure 2: A balcony in the mansion 

The harmony of Western and Eastern architecture

Phuong Nam mansion is frequently referred to as one of the city’s most magnificent heritage structures. The mansion is designed in eclecticism style, which combines architectural styles from different cultures into one. Feng Shui, a Southeast Asian art of house construction, was combined with French architecture in this case. Many lotus-shaped sculptures, the lotus being a significant symbol in Vietnamese culture, were used around the Phuong Nam mansion to complement the French-style ornamentation. Because of this, the overall structure and meaning benefits from a smattering of “Vietnamese”.

Elaborately wrought ornaments

Everywhere on the building, you find numerous Art Nouveau-style embellishments. The railings and various hand-drawn murals in the space are particularly noteworthy. The house’s metal ornamentation, including the railings, were directly imported from France and Germany (Gia Khang 2018), demonstrating the house's first owner’s wealth. However, Phuong Nam mansion has more to offer. The house’s architect and owner have installed a variety of stunning ornamental elements throughout the house to find and appreciate.

Figure 3: Hand-drawn paintings

Paintings

Painted decorations decorate approximately 1,200 square meters of interior walls and ceilings. These paintings were all created by the hands of artists while the house was being built. The overall style appears to be Art Nouveau, with Eastern influences, symbolism, and natural motifs interwoven. (Villa le Voile 2022)

Figure 4: Corinthian columns of the mansion

Classical orders

The mansion also incorporates many details that follow the classical order. In this case, this is the Corinthian order , which is characterized by the slender column and acanthus leaves capitals. The mansion also has dentils in the house's cornice, which is also a characteristic of the Corinthian order. By adding classical elements into the mansion, the architect has created a sense of power, luxury and elegance for the house.

Figure 5: handrails in the mansion

Handrails 

The villa's exterior is adorned with cast iron handrails adorned with Art Nouveau flower designs and a silk screen-like pattern covers the huge loggias and balconies. Made in France and Germany, these lights were delivered by ship to their final destination and then installed by locals.(Villa le Voile 2022)

Figure 6: A lotus-style object on the roof of the mansion

Lotus sculptures

In Vietnamese culture, the lotus is a significant symbol since every part of it can be used in Vietnamese's daily lives. The flower, for example, can be used to make tea, the leaves can be used to color rice, and the flower's body can be made into lotus silk. Many lotus-shaped sculptures were used at the Phuong Nam mansion to complement the French-style ornamentation. The Phuong Nam house becomes a lot more unique and local by incorporating a little bit of "Vietnamese" into the structure.

Figure 7: Phuong Nam mansion's colored ceramic tiles.

Ceramic tiles

The kaleidoscopic floor tiles go perfectly with the colorfully painted walls. Despite the fact that there are 53 patterns in total, each one was chosen for a certain color scheme. Together, the walls and tiles create a dreamy atmosphere that lends the Villa a sense of place and identity.

The vivid colors of the ceramic encaustic tiles used in the main villa have aged gracefully in contrast to the cement encaustic tiles employed in most buildings of the time.(Villa le Voile 2022)