The 20-year-long dream of a Vietnamese architect

In 2004, the birth year of my daughter, a memorable coincidence took place. The Director of the Department of Culture and Information of Ho Chi Minh City at that time, Ms. Truong Ngoc Thuy, called me while I was in Belgium, saying that they truly wanted to preserve the circus industry and invited me to participate in the bidding for the Phu Tho Circus project. Back then, there was no public bidding but rather invitation-style bidding. When I returned to Vietnam to meet her, Ms. Thuy said that this project already had two architectural documents, and now needed a third one.

Soon after, I met the Director of the Blue Sky and Red Sun circus teams from the Ho Chi Minh City Circus Troupe, the forerunner of the current Phuong Nam Art Theater. He asked me whether I had experience in constructing circus projects like the one of the famous Solei circus troupe in Canada or not, because this is an asset that he is very passionate about, he needs a circus project that is compatible with the troupe's existing acts. Coincidentally, I learned that one of the founders of the Soleil circus was a Belgian director. If me and him, two Belgians, work together, it will be convenient and feasible. I told the Director about this fateful relation and was more than ready to rearrange the design consulting profile for my company.

The career span of a circus performer is very short, from the age of 14-15 until the age of 30, every day their health and strength gradually deteriorate, so what happens? We must ensure their future so they can continue to contribute to the industry. This is a problem for which I have to find the solution. Since then, I have traveled from country to country, visited more than 20 countries, and visited 40 major theaters of those countries to witness their merits and learn from their failures. I realized that almost all major theaters in the world only built pure performance houses, their concepts were clear, especially capitalist countries that only focus on profits, how to break even, and the Soleil was no exception. Next, I visited all circus training schools in 20 countries. The state had to support a lot. Even Russia, which has a long tradition of circus arts, had to use state money. Finally, I have a solution for the city: a circus that is both a circus performance and a multi-purpose performance. In fact, if a building has a diameter of 52 meters, a height of 60 meters, more than 31,600 square meters, and costs 1,500 billion VND which is only used for circuses, it is a waste.

I chose a Spanish technology and engineering consulting company, whose expertise is well known globally. It was like finding a needle in a haystack looking for them, not mentioning the effort I put in contacting them without responses nor convincing them. It took me the 10th time to finally get a reply. The Director said he had never accepted a project with a cheap consulting price like I proposed, but fortunately, he wanted to prove the company's true capabilities to not only Vietnam but also Southeast Asia.

The construction of Phu Tho Circus and multi-purpose performance theater.

As the final concept arrived, I confidently asserted that it was one of a kind. On the roof is a conference center, exhibition center and a rooftop restaurant. The restaurant is a place for young people, intellectuals, and art connoisseurs to meet and exchange knowledge and passion for art and culture. This formula was unique among our works. I had traveled to 20 countries and found theaters with bars and coffee shops next to them, not owned by the theater, relying on the theater's cultural activities to make a profit. I asked myself: Why don't we utilize the profits of those accompanying services instead of the city's budget to create a project, a high-class training school,... Shouldn't we take the benefits of healthy commercialization to instruct the future generations?

Phu Tho Circus and multi-purpose performance theater has 2,000 seats. On the 5th floor is a training center with a 300-seat multi-purpose performance house, with a convenient parking lot dealing with the bustle of Lu Gia street.

Architect Pham Minh Nhut and Mr. Carlos Garcia - stage technology expert, who was invited by Architect Nhut to Vietnam to consult on design and construction of the stage of the Phu Tho Circus and Multi-purpose Performance Theater.

The project has many functions:

First, it includes an administrative house to manage and coordinate all activities at the Circus Theater, from selling tickets to operating working facilities.

Second, the main building block, 52 meters wide and 60 meters high, is almost the heart of the project, not only does it have two auditoriums with 2,000 seats and 300 seats, but also has spaces reserved for souvenir shops, or for sculpture and painting exhibitions. The exhibitions will attract domestic and foreign tourists as well as students. 

Third, with the training school, tourists can visit and observe training activities. And out of performance hours, the overall project is an ideal and accommodating venue for big scale events.

We have devoted a lot of effort to the performance stage. Besides lighting, sound, floor types, backdrops and transition technology,its height is also adjustable for convenience whether to perform in the air, on dry floors, on ice or even in water tanks. Other than circus shows, there will be professional dance concerts. All modern theater technology is included here, creating a multi-functional tool for artists to freely express their talent. All of that combined, the performance could turn into a poem, a magnificent and emotionally touching story for the audience.

The stage inside the building.

The unique shape of the building originated from the Vietnamese bamboo basket. When 80% of the Vietnamese population come from the agricultural sector, it is a familiar symbol. It also fits the word "Cirque", the circular shape, and the circus industry.

And more importantly, Phu Tho Circus and Multipurpose Performance Theater is a training facility, where I gather the brainpower of our predecessors and talented individuals from both Vietnam and the world to contribute to the city.

Through all of the European fairy tales that my sister told me, the picture of characters skating on the snow vividly came to my mind. And when carrying out this project, I hope it will be a facility to organize international festivals, in which all ice skating art troupes will come and perform "Disney at night" to serve Vietnamese children who have never seen snow nor this type of art. This is a dream that a child had always longed for 44 years ago.

I have returned many times to visit and work in Vietnam. Traveling throughout the provinces and cities, I realized that there is no other country with culture and customs as rich and lively as ours. Most of our architectural works have a vision of several decades. In addition to circus design, I also want to share my design experience in Europe in other fields such as multi-purpose arenas and museums. In particular, museum architecture is not monotonous to me. It is not only a place to display images and historical artifacts, but also a space that takes advantage of 5 sensors for visitors to walk through history. 

For twenty long years, my colleagues and I have been attached to the Phu Tho Circus and multi-purpose performance project. We know we are doing something that the city will be proud of, so we are ready to work day and night. For 20 years, I have accompanied the project until it takes its current form. The miraculous thing is that it also coincides with the evolution of my own life. I have designed many important projects in Belgium, but it cannot make me as happy and excited as when I have the honor of carrying out architectural projects in Vietnam, dedicating myself to my mother country.