Hanoi’s future heritage takes centre stage in RMIT’s global program

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Hanoi’s future heritage takes centre stage in RMIT’s global program

“What will Hanoi be like in 25 years’ time? And how can we be ‘good ancestors’ through practice?” RMIT students from Vietnam and Australia set out to answer these questions in the Future Ancestors program.

For two weeks, the program saw over 30 RMIT students from Melbourne and Hanoi take on real-world interdisciplinary, industry-connected projects in and around the capital city of Vietnam.

Whether it was visiting a typical 1980s collective housing complex, learning about traditional silk weaving and dyeing in the Van Phuc Silk Village, or wandering the Old Quarter to capture moments in the daily commute, the students delved into the essence of the city through various activities and talks with residents, artisans, and artists.

Collage of Future Ancestors activities

An RMIT Global Experiences program, Future Ancestors took place in Hanoi for two weeks in November and December 2023. (Photos: Future Ancestors participants)

Future Ancestors is a global intensive program that aims to explore issues at the intersection of contemporary creative practice and questions of cultural heritage.

The starting point was to speculate about the city of Hanoi in 25 years’ time and ask what role creative practitioners might play in preserving and/or creating ‘future heritage’.

The program, supported by funding from the Australian Government’s New Colombo Plan, involved students of Fine Art, Design, Photography, Creative Writing, Communication, Fashion and Textiles (Sustainable Innovation), Fashion Design, and Biomedical Engineering.

For the Hanoi study tour, three teams were formed with students and educators from RMIT’s Melbourne and Hanoi campuses along with industry guest mentors. Each team got involved in a specific project – Extending Heritage, Weaving the Future, or Inner-city Commute.

The first in-person group meeting of the Future Ancestors program in Hanoi

The first in-person group meeting of the Future Ancestors program in Hanoi (Photo: Ngoc Hoang)

The Extending Heritage project in collaboration with Hanoi Ad Hoc documented six architectural sites in Hanoi, including collective housing in Nghia Tan and Ham Tu Quan, tube houses in Ma May and Hang Gai streets, and French colonial villas in Hoan Kiem District.

Trung Mai, Founder of Hanoi Ad Hoc and the group’s industry mentor, commended the interplay of different perspectives and the collaborative spirit amongst the students as they unravelled the layers of Hanoi’s architectural heritage.

“The enthusiasm and curiosity of the students fuelled our exploration. As we navigated this immersive experience, bridging Melbourne and Hanoi, it was awe-inspiring to witness the cross-cultural exchange happening right before our eyes,” he said.

The Extending Heritage group on a field trip in the centre of Hanoi

The Extending Heritage group on a field trip in the centre of Hanoi (Photo: Ondris Pui)

The group used photogrammetry (photographing from various angles then combining them) and lidar (scanning with laser technology) to create 3D models of the buildings. The models could then be archived in a digital format for research and preservation or presented in an extended reality (XR) environment for an immersive viewing experience.

RMIT Bachelor of Design (Digital Media) student Lucas Horta said, “We went into this project with a mutual understanding that digital archiving is important for the next generations. With the huge amount of data that we captured, the archiving process is just beginning. I’ve come to love the spaces we visited and documented, so it’s definitely not the end of this project for me.”

3D models of architectural elements from a collective housing complex, created by Lucas Horta

3D models of architectural elements from a collective housing complex, created by Lucas Horta (Image: Lucas Horta)

An interactive showcase of the Extending Heritage works

An interactive showcase of the Extending Heritage works (Photo: Ngoc Hoang)

In association with various design and craft practitioners including Thao Vu from Kilomet109 and Sam Thi Tinh from Hoa Tien Brocade, the Weaving the Future group explored how textile craft practices and fashion design reflect and contribute to the cultural and environmental sustainability of the country, and the overall wellbeing of local communities.

RMIT Vietnam Associate Lecturer of Design Studies Michal Teague explained, “We did this by looking at artists and designers based in Vietnam who embed longevity and circularity in their creative practice, and who establish meaningful connections with artisanal communities to merge traditional techniques with contemporary design in the name of cultural preservation.”

The Weaving the Future group visited local artisans in Van Phuc Silk Village.

The Weaving the Future group visited local artisans in Van Phuc Silk Village. (Photos: Michal Teague and Weaving the Future group members)

The group attended a workshop by Vun Art Cooperative to upcycle silk fabric scraps into a design on a bag

The group attended a workshop by Vun Art Cooperative to upcycle silk fabric scraps into a design on a bag. (Photos: Michal Teague and Weaving the Future group members)

Meanwhile, the Inner-city Commute group took to the streets of Hanoi with their cameras in an attempt to explore different social questions based on the concept of daily commute – how history, urban design, climate change and inclusivity influence movement around the city now and into the future.

The project was executed in partnership with Matca Space for Photography, who proposed the methodology, and provided lectures and mentoring for the students.

Photos of bicycle wheels in Hanoi by Oliver Altermatt

RMIT Photography student Oliver Altermatt’s work looked at Hanoi through the lens of the bicycle wheels found across the city. (Photo: Ngoc Hoang)

Photos of makeshift ramps taken by Pug Williams

Makeshift ramps to bring motorbikes from roads onto footpaths, photographed by RMIT Fine Art student Pug Williams. (Photos: Pug Williams)

Photos of black plastic and yellow tape packaging

RMIT Fine Art student Jade Lees-Pavey captured the black plastic and yellow tape packaging emblematic of the flow of goods in Dong Xuan market. (Photos: Ngoc Hoang and Jade Lees-Pavey)

Prior to the two-week study tour in Hanoi, the students attended various online workshops throughout November 2023 to get familiar with contemporary debates about their fields.

Future Ancestors program lead and RMIT Lecturer of Photography Dr Alan Hill described Hanoi as the “perfect destination for this program”. This choice was influenced by Hanoi’s status as a major centre for culture and arts in Vietnam, along with being home to an urban RMIT campus, similar to Melbourne.

Dr Hill added, “Collaboration and addressing real-world issues are key in creative education. We came here to learn collectively from each other, side by side with our local industry partners and students.”

For Melbourne-based Bachelor of Fashion (Design) student Le Hoang Thao Uyen, it was an enlightening experience to discover new aspects of her hometown of Hanoi while interacting with the designers, artisans and passionate citizens who are helping to breathe new life into traditions.

“I was curious to learn how my peers and I can become good ancestors to the future generations, and have been really inspired by all the amazing ideas put forth by everyone,” Uyen said.

Learn more about Global Experiences offered by RMIT’s campuses in Vietnam and Australia.

Explore the 3D models from the Extending Heritage group here. Visit the Instagram page for Inner-city Commute here.

Story: Ngoc Hoang

Masthead image: Ngoc Hoang | Thumbnail image: Alison Bennett

Communication and design

19 December 2023

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